You Get What You Give
by Madd.Elise
Summary: This story is a LoVe story, it's about their life, their children, their family and friends, including MaDi. There will be drama, mystery/adventure and humour. It's set in Neptune 2038, 14 years after the end of I Was Here. This story follows my other two stories, Drops of Jupiter and I Was Here. This will make more sense if you read them first. Detailed summary inside!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Well, I'm back, with a sequel to **_I Was Here_**, which was the sequel to **_Drops of Jupiter_**. I'm trying something a little different with this one, I'm adding some PI work, and a mystery of sorts. I've also gone back to focusing on LoVe. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Detailed summary: **It's 2038, in Neptune, California, and things have been peaceful for quite some years. This has mainly been due to Keith Mars being a very skilful Sheriff, and his daughter Veronica Echolls, running a very successful private investigating business. Their law enforcement skills of course haven't stopped the usual scandals of the rich and famous occurring.

It's now the beginning of September, and Veronica's eldest daughter, Aubrey Echolls, is about to start her first year of high school at Neptune High, and thing are about to change for everyone.

**Chapter 1**

"Violet, get out of the bathroom!" Aubrey yelled at her younger sister. "Caroline is picking me up for school in fifteen minutes and I can't be late!"

"Just wait, Aubrey Echolls. What's the big deal anyway? You've been late before," twelve, almost thirteen year old Violet retorted through the locked bathroom door.

Violet and Aubrey shared a bathroom in their home in Neptune.

"It's my first day of high school, so I **can't** be late!" Aubrey cried. She banged on the door and yelled, "Hurry up!"

"Shut up Aub," Oliver ordered, walking past Aubrey with his hands over his ears.

"You shut up, Ollie," fifteen year old Aubrey maturely retorted.

At this point Veronica decided it was time to intervene in her children's war. It always went that way on the first day of September, the kids went nuts.

"Aubrey, dear, just calm down. You won't be late, especially as I'm driving you to school," Veronica said calmly. "And Violet, hurry up, you'll be late, and in trouble, if you don't get out of that bathroom."

"But Mom," Aubrey protested, "I've already worked it all out with Caroline, she's picking me up."

"No, she's actually not. Aunt Mac and I've worked everything out and I'm taking you to your first day at Neptune High. There will be plenty of opportunities to drive to school with Caroline, plenty," Veronica informed Aubrey, her tone implying that the discussion was closed.

"Okay Mom," Aubrey agreed in a resigned tone, then dashed into the bathroom as Violet stepped out of it.

"Violet, that wasn't very nice," Veronica lightly reprimanded her.

Violet merely grinned back with the mischievous grin she shared with her father. She also had inherited Logan's light brown hair, but had Veronica's light blue eyes. She was a very pretty girl, as was Aubrey.

"Go on, go finish getting ready, your father will take you and the boys to school," Veronica informed her.

Violet accordingly went into her room to finish getting her things together.

"Tom, are you ready yet?" Veronica called, as she approached her youngest son's room.

She walked into his room and found him playing on his floor with a favourite toy, and not in the slightest bit ready.

"Thomas Logan Echolls, what do you think you're doing?" Veronica demanded of her nine, almost ten year old. He was eleven months younger than Oliver, he was their surprise baby.

Tom looked up guiltily at his mother. "Hi Mommy," he said warily.

"Leave your toys there, there's no time to pack them up now. You've got to get ready, and quick," Veronica ordered him. "I thought I left Daddy to help you get ready. Where is he?"

"I think he's downstairs watching the TV," Tom supplied.

"Right, you get ready, and be downstairs in five minutes. Dad will be waiting for you," Veronica told him sternly, and with that she left his room, in search of her husband.

"Logan Echolls, you were supposed to help our son get ready for school," Veronica said in frustration, when she found him at the TV.

"Which one?" Logan asked impertinently.

"Tom," Veronica answered. "You're usually so much better than this at helping me with them. What's the matter?"

"I guess I've been too busy thinking about our little girl starting high school, and at Neptune High of all places," Logan answered slowly.

"Neptune's no where near as bad as it was in our day," Veronica countered.

"Yeah, but teenage boys are still teenage boys," Logan said succinctly.

Veronica smothered a grin and said, "Well, how about you not worry about that for now. We've raised her well, and we have other kids to look after too."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Logan said.

"Ah, music to my ears. I'll never get tired of hearing you say that," Veronica said with satisfaction and a broad grin. "Now, Violet, Ollie and Tom will all be down here soon for you to take them to school."

"The middle school for Vi, and the elementary school for the boys," Logan said in clarification.

"Yep, and I'll take Aub to Neptune High on my way to work," Veronica said.

"Want to have lunch today?" Logan asked. "I'm working at home today."

"Pick me up at 12, and we'd better be having Italian," Veronica answered.

With that she disappeared into the kitchen to make sure that all was right there.

When Violet had been born, Veronica let Logan hire permanent part-time help. By the time they had four children and they both still worked, Veronica was very glad she'd relented on the matter of hired help. Veronica still liked to take care of some of her house work, even though they were very wealthy she still liked to do a bit of the household chores, it brought more normalcy to their lives, and she wanted her children to know how to help around the house.

"Kids, it's time to go!" Veronica yelled up the stairs. "Boys and Violet to the Mercedes with your father, and Aubrey we're taking the Audi."

It might be thought that an Audi would be a conspicuous car for Veronica to drive, as a private investigator, but everyone knew her anyway, no matter what car she drove. Driving an average car would've made her stick out more, so she drove her Audi to work, most of the time. There were occasions when she needed a less precocious car, and then she took their black BWM.

The three younger children trooped out the door and into Logan's car with him, and Aubrey and her mother walked more sedately towards the Audi.

Aubrey was slight like her mother, but not quite as short, for which she was rather grateful. Her hair was as blonde as her mother's though, and they were both wearing their hair long currently.

"So, are you excited?" Veronica asked. She didn't really need to ask, she could tell from Aubrey's body language that she was excited, but it was better to ask.

"Yeah, and a little bit nervous I guess. At least Caroline will be there, and she's told me so much about what high school is like. She's not in my class though," Aubrey answered.

"But Justin is," Veronica reminded her. "Uncle Wallace and I think it's kind of cute, our babies starting high school together."

"We'll be an interesting addition to the 09er group," Aubrey remarked. "I know Justin isn't actually an 09er, but it's not like Caroline and I are going to let him get left out. He's always been one of us."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Veronica said seriously. "I know you've been an 09er all your life, but we've raised you to care about people. Things can become rather fierce, socially, in high school, especially in Neptune, so you will need to keep making sure you're careful with your friendships."

"Yes Mom, I'll do my best," Aubrey replied.

"I know you will," Veronica said fondly. "So, are you going out for the pep squad or cheerleading?"

"Will it be okay with you, if I do?" Aubrey asked. She had heard many tales of her mother in high school, and she didn't want to let her down.

"Goodness no, I was on pep squad, Aunt Lily was the cheerleading captain her senior year, I know Caroline is on the cheerleading team. If you want to, then you should. All that matters to me is that you're happy, that your grades are good, and like I said before, that you treat people well," Veronica told her.

"Thanks Mom," Aubrey said, as they pulled up out the front of Neptune High. "I'll see you at home tonight!"

"This afternoon, I'm coming home early, first day of school and all. And I'm going to ask you all about your day," Veronica told her. "Have a good day sweetie!"

Veronica pulled out from the curb and continued onto her office. She didn't use her father's old office, it would've been nice for sentimental value, but when the time came for her to find somewhere it was leased to someone else. So she had rented something, and in a slightly nicer part of town. Later on Logan had bought a large office building, as an investment, and Veronica used a section of it for her business.

The building was a nice, sophisticated, clean, light and bright. Veronica liked that, it contrasted the generally dark and sinister nature of her work.

Once at the office building she took the elevator up to her rooms. She just had a reception room and a an office for herself.

"Good morning Lucy," Veronica greeted her part-time receptionist.

"Good morning Mrs Echolls, I mean, Veronica," Lucy returned. Lucy hadn't been working for Veronica long and still tended to slip into formality, formality that Veronica had told her was absolutely not necessary.

"Any messages?" Veronica asked.

"No, nothing yet," Lucy replied. "Busy morning with the kids?"

"I'll say," Veronica said firmly. "Well, I'll be in my office."

Veronica walked into her office, set her briefcase down and set up her laptop. As she settled into her chair the looked around her office walls and at her desk. On her desk there was just one family photo, it was from Christmas the year before. Her children's smiling faces looked out at her from the frame, and she could see the love in Logan's eyes. Her own face looked light and happy, there was no trace of bitterness on it.

On the walls there were various photos of her children, and a large group photo of the Kanes, Fennels, Casablancas and Echolls from the 4th of July just passed. They all looked tanned, happy and healthy. The size of their families had increased substantially since Lily graduated high school just over fourteen years ago.

Wallace and Amanda's second child, a little girl who they named Dakota Blair was born the summer after Lily graduation high school. Two years after that Amanda had had twins who were named Tyler Clark and Jasmine Ruby. Jasmine and Tyler were the same age as Duncan and Eva's first child, Carter Jacob. Their second child, a little girl, named Honey Faith, was born two years later. Lily was ecstatic over their births, and simply doted on her younger half siblings.

Lily and Liam had survived college together, and had married the summer after they graduated. They had their own children now, a four year old boy, Dylan Jack, and a little girl, who was two years old, named Maegan Ivy. Dick, Mac and their children were standing next to Lily and Liam in the photo, with their three children. Dick and Mac had had only one more child after Caroline and James, a girl, named Aurora Ellie. Aurora was the same age as Logan and Veronica's son Oliver.

Veronica looked fondly at the collection of children, and was very glad she was not their school teachers. They were all very good friends, and liked to get up to mischief together. It was always amusing, watching an outsider trying to get their names and ages straight. Even Veronica had trouble from time to time, and that was saying something.

Caroline was sixteen, and the eldest. Justin was about to turn sixteen, but was in the same grade at school as Aubrey who was fifteen. Next came James Casablancas and Dakota Fennel, both fourteen and they had just started their last year of junior high. Veronica and Logan's Violet came next at age twelve. Carter Kane, and Tyler and Jasmine Fennel were all eleven, almost twelve, and Aurora Casablancas and Oliver Echolls were ten, turning eleven. Honey Kane was just ten, and Tom the youngest, was nine, almost ten.

Veronica's head was spinning from sorting out the various names and ages. She laughed quietly to herself, imaging the effort her father went to in keeping all their names and ages straight.

"He probably has a big file with all their details in it," Veronica mused quietly. "Goodness knows I could use one. The scrapbook Lily made for me for my 50th birthday works just as well, I suppose."

Veronica had turned fifty the summer the year before, and it had been a big event, much to Veronica's chagrin. Veronica didn't feel fifty, she felt much younger, which was largely due to her young children. She and Logan had started having children fairly late in life, but when they did, they chose not to let their ages play a factor in planning their family. And it had not been a mistake.

The scrapbook was proof enough of that. It was filled with memories, and many of the photos were actually taken by Veronica, Lily had subtly obtained digital copies, created the scrapbook, and surprised Veronica with it.

At that moment Veronica stopped her pleasant reminiscing, there would be time for it later. She had work to do.

She opened up the files on the current cases she was working on and began to prioritise her plans for the day. Veronica's work varied a bit from the style of work Keith had done at Mars Investigations. She was more highly trained than him, and was never short of people wanting her to take difficult cases. So there were no bail jumpers for Veronica to track down, that would keep her away from home. Similarly Veronica tried not to take cases that kept her from home for more than one night.

She still ran background checks, and did the occasional stakeout to chase up cheating spouses. She tended to focus more on working in corporate security, and corporate espionage. Logan preferred that, he saw it with less dangerous, and Veronica was happy to comply with that. Her career with the FBI and Secret Service had provided her with more than enough excitement to last a life time, not to mention her colourful high school career.

Veronica checked her emails, and found one from a client, wanting to know how his case was progressing. Veronica picked up the phone to call him.

"Good morning Mr Connors…Yes, I received your email, that's why I'm calling. I haven't anything concrete yet on whether or not Mr Gibson is embezzling funds, but I'll keep you updated. It shouldn't be too long before I have more information for you…Yes, you have a good day too, goodbye," Veronica said.

She hung up the phone, then looked longingly at the clock. She'd taken most of the summer off, only working a few days a fortnight. Being back at work, and for what was for all purposes, full time, felt a little slow. At least it was Wednesday, the week was already half over. Forty-five minutes and Logan would be picking her up for lunch, she couldn't wait.

Meanwhile back in the 09er zipcode, Mac and Dick were in their house on the beach. It was strangely silent, compared to the noise that had filled it all summer long.

"Dick! Where are you?" Mac called from her office.

"Out the back Mackie!" Dick called.

Mac walked out and found him, reading some paperwork for his business.

"I have to go down to Echolls Investigations, I need to go over some details for a case I've been working on for Veronica," Mac told him. Veronica hadn't been able to use the same building that her father had, but she had named her business after his.

"Sure thing babe. Want to bring me a pizza on your way back?" Dick asked hopefully.

"I'll get you a steak or something," Mac replied. She moved to leave, then paused. "It's funny. The kids run around this place all summer, often there's at least one extra, and I want to tear my hair out. But now they're gone, I really miss them."

"I miss them too Mac," Dick agreed. "But they'll be home again this afternoon, and you'll be wanting to tear your hair out again. Plus, Caroline doesn't really run around anymore. She and Aubrey tend to lie out on the beach, giggling about God knows what."

Dick looked serious and thoughtful.

"What?" Mac prompted.

"I think it's about time Logan and I had another chat with them. It's probably been a year since the last one," Dick said, not joking in the slightest.

Mac smothered a smirk. She and Veronica thought their husbands were hilarious, and completely overprotective when it came to their daughters, but let them be anyway. At least their girls would be looked after, and it kept Logan and Dick happy to give their 'Boys are all evil' lecture.

"Well, I'm going to go now," Mac said, but Dick wasn't really listening anymore.

"Yes, and I think Violet and Aurora can get the more detailed lecture this year. I'm sure Logan will agree. Maybe DK will want to help, and bring Honey along," Dick said musingly, and mainly to himself.

"Yes dear, perhaps you could go on the road and give the lecture to teenage girls everywhere," Mac said dryly.

"Nah, they're some other dad's problem," Dick said serenely. "See you later babe."

A couple of streets over Logan was also getting ready to make his way to Echolls Investigations, but before he left he was working on part of a manuscript. He was changing one of his books from prose, to a screenplay. Several other of his books had been made into movies, and Logan insisted that he be the one to write the screenplay. If he didn't, there was no deal. He didn't want anyone butchering his work.

Logan had also helped direct a couple of his books that had become movies, and had even had a few minor acting roles. The roles he took were to help give a name to small projects that he believed worthwhile, for Logan Echolls was still a big name and a powerful face in Hollywood. He didn't necessarily like it all the time, but it was what it was, and in general, Logan loved his life. Especially his family and things not pertaining to Hollywood.

He read over his last few pages with satisfaction and saved the document. He was going to enjoy when he'd finished, but the real reward was watching his books on the big screen. He also generally negotiated that he help with the casting for his books that became movies, it helped to ensure that he was disappointed with the final product.

Logan left his office, grabbed a jacket, his wallet and keys, and went outside into the crisp air of the first day of fall. There was nothing quite like a lunch break with his wife.

**AN: Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you all think :) The mystery part of the story will be introduced in the next chapter, just as a by the way.**

**I'll also just add a little note about timing, to limit any confusion for anyone.**

Veronica is 51 now, weird, I know, but she was born in 1987, and it's 2038, which makes her 51 :(

It really does seem weird to me, her being 51, but she didn't come back to Neptune until 2020, and she was 33 then. She married Logan in 2022, so she was 35, and she was 36 when she had Aubrey, so they started their family late, as did the others. Career women tend to start their families later these days, which makes them relatively old (so to speak), by the time their children are in their teens. I still think of Veronica as like 30, so I guess she and Logan will be a very young 50! Hope all the made sense!

**Also, I know there are a lot of names to remember, so I might include a list of names and ages etc, if you guys want.**

**Please review :) If I get enough reviews I'll post the next chapter tomorrow!**


	2. Name Summary

**Who's Who in Neptune, 2038**

**Echolls family:**  
• Logan – Born March 1, 1988  
• Veronica – Born August 1987. Returns to Neptune June 2020. Marries Logan 2022. Veronica does detective work in Neptune.  
• Aubrey Liana – Born June 2023. Starts High School 2038, age 15.  
• Violet Belle – Born October 2025  
• Oliver Keith – Born December 2027  
• Thomas Logan – Born November 2028

**Casablancas family:**  
• Dick – Born April 15, 1987  
• Mac – Born December 16, 1987  
• Caroline Piper – Born June 2022. Started High School 2037.  
• James Patrick – Born April 11 2024  
• Aurora Ellie – March 2028

**Fennel family:**  
• Wallace – December 1987  
• Amanda – March 1988  
• Justin Ryan – Born September 2022. Starts High School 2038, age 15, almost sixteen.  
• Dakota Blair – Born June 2024  
• Twins, Tyler Clark and Jasmine Ruby – Born December 2026

**Kane family:**  
• Duncan – Born March 13, 1987  
• Evelyn – Born 1994  
• Lily Megan – Born December 15 2005. Started High School 2020.  
• Carter Jacob – Born October 2026  
• Honey Faith Delacey – Born June 2028

**Armistead family:**  
• Liam – Born October 2005  
• Lily – Born December 15, 2005  
• Dylan Jack – Born 2034  
• Maegan Ivy – Born April 2036

**AN: So, I've had to change the months of most peoples birthdays, as of 21/09/2012. Violet, Ollie, Tom, Aurora, Tyler, Jasmine and Carter have all had their birthdays changed. They're all a few months younger now, so that their ages are right for the average age for their year.**

**James and Justin are both old for their year, James just is, and Justin's reason will be explained alter in the story.**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed! (Thanks Nichole! Glad to see you're enjoying this one too :) I'm trying to work things so that we see a bit of the other families, including Lily and Liam, not only LoVe)**

**By the way everyone, I pretty much always reply to guest reviews in an author's note at the beginning of a chapter, and I thank people with accounts via PM.**

**Chapter 2**

"Sure thing Veronica, we'll see you tomorrow night for dinner. It is at your place, right?" Mac asked as she stood in the doorway of Veronica's office.

"Yes Q, you're all going to descend on our humble abode. I hate to say this, but thank God for hired help!" Veronica exclaimed. "See you later."

Mac walked out into the reception area as Logan walked into it.

"Hey Mac, how goes the detectiving?" Logan asked comically.

"Detectiving, is that even a word, Mr Author?" Mac asked, grinning.

"Mrs Casablancas, if I want it to be a word, it is a word," Logan replied, affecting a pompous tone.

"Yeah, you bet Logan. See you tomorrow," Mac said, making for the door.

"Bye Mac," Logan said to her retreating back, the walked towards Veronica's office.

"Hi Lucy, that's a nice hairstyle you've got today," Logan said charmingly.

It was wrong of him, but he loved to get her flustered, and a simple compliment assured him just that.

"Why, th-thank you Mr Echolls," Lucy stuttered. She always called Logan 'Mr Echolls', she was far too much in awe of him to even consider using his first name.

Logan grinned, very much enjoying himself, and walked into Veronica's office.

"Sugarpus, it's lunch time," he said in a sing-song voice.

Veronica was looked very studious and staring intently at her laptop screen.

"What the hell is he doing?" Veronica muttered, too focused on her work to answer Logan.

"I think he, is your husband, and he's come to take you to lunch," Logan said.

"Oh, Logan! I'm sorry, Mac just brought me some info for a case, and it's really puzzling me. Give me a moment and I'll be ready to go," Veronica said, typing a few things quickly.

"Right, now I can pay you proper attention," Veronica said presently, closing her laptop and grabbing her jacket.

She walked over to Logan and kissed him in greeting.

"I don't think that was quite proper enough," Logan said, when Veronica pulled back.

"Well, what would be proper enough?" Veronica asked.

Logan gave her a long and thorough kiss.

"Oh, something like that. I'll remember for next time," Veronica said breathlessly.

"Shall we go now? I have a table at Criniti's for twelve thirty," Logan said, taking Veronica's hand and leading her out of the office.

"I'll be back in an hour," Veronica told Lucy just before they stepped out into the hall.

As they made their way out of the of the building, Veronica looked at their intertwined years. After sixteen years of marriage she still loved Logan more each day, and she believed that would never change. A lot of things in life were uncertain, but not their love for one another. After all, as her eloquent husband had once said, they were epic.

"Busy morning?" Veronica asked as they reached the Mercedes.

"Well, getting the kids to school was fairly hectic, but once I was home it was fairly quiet. Really quiet actually, I just worked on the screen play for _The Lonely Road_," Logan answered.

"I can't wait to watch it when it's finally done," Veronica said. "So, the kids were rowdy on the way to school?"

"Oh, they were a bit excited, chattered a lot, they are our kids after all. I saw Carter when I dropped Violet at the middle school, he looks more like Duncan every day," Logan said.

"He's a nice kid, they all are," Veronica replied.

"I don't know how we managed it, we were all kind of difficult children," Logan said with a chuckle.

"Hey! I wasn't," Veronica protested.

"Well, once upon a time you weren't, but we both know you weren't a cup of tea in high school. Actually, Mac was pretty good as far as kids went, even when she found out she was really supposed to be Madison Sinclair," Logan said thoughtfully.

"Neptune, it's such a special place," Veronica said dryly.

"Indeed. So, which side of the menu are you eating today, Ronnie?" Logan asked teasingly.

"I thought I'd try working through the right side today," Veronica said seriously.

"Okay, I'll just call ahead to let them know," said Logan, reaching for his phone.

Veronica slapped his hand away from his phone and said, "Oh, no you don't. I'm just going to have some sort of pasta today."

"That's good, seeing as you said you were only going to be gone an hour," Logan remarked.

Once Logan and Veronica were inside and eating, Logan asked, "How long until your Dad and Alicia get back from their trip?"

"Why? Do you want free babysitting?" Veronica asked in amusement.

"No, I just wanted to know. But you do raise a fairly good point. We can't ask Lily and Liam to anymore, not with their little ones, and Aubrey's not really old enough to have the responsibility of the other three thrust onto her shoulders," Logan said thoughtfully.

"Can you imagine how easy it'll be when she is old enough?" Veronica asked.

"No, it won't be easy. We'll still be hiring babysitters, or abusing your father's generosity, because when Aubrey is that old she'll want to be going out all the time," Logan predicted accurately.

"Oh, that'll be fun. She'll get her license, want to drive to parties, go out with friends," Veronica said wryly. "We'll have to set her curfews, she'll break them, we'll ground her. She'll want to go out on dates," Veronica added mischievously.

"Well, she may want to, but she sure as hell won't be," Logan said firmly.

"Yes dear, you just keep telling yourself that," Veronica said soothingly. "But in all seriousness Logan, she's getting older, she's very pretty, and boys are going to want to date her, and she's going to want to date them. I want you to try to reconcile yourself to the idea. You're going to have to let her date. You can give anyone she dates a scary talk, and chat about all the guns in house, but you will have to let her date."

"I know, but can't I just keep pretending for now?" Logan asked hopefully.

"No, you can't. It's her first day of high school, so I think it's about time for you to face the music," Veronica said firmly. "Don't worry, I promise to run background checks on anyone she dates."

"But we both know that's more for your sake than mine, because you just can't help yourself," Logan replied.

"Well," Veronica said slowly. "That may be, but it will make you feel better. At least she'll never get to date a jerk like Troy Vandegraff that way."

Logan's eyes darked ominously and said, "She'll never date anyone like that. Maybe she could date someone who is blind? I could cope with that."

"Logan Echolls, that's awful!" Veronica exclaimed.

"What? I'm not being mean about blind people," Logan protested. "I just don't want any guys checking out my daughter."

"Daughters?" Veronica suggested. "Violet will be dating before you know it too."

"Oh why aren't our sons older, they could help me in my quest to protect my daughters," Logan said dramatically.

"You always had a flare for melodrama, didn't you?" Veronica said in amusement. "Come on, pay the bill. I need to get back to the office."

Logan dropped Veronica back at work and as she exited the car, Veronica said, "I'll be home by three thirty, to do post school snacks, because it's the first day back. Caroline is dropping Aubrey home, and you'll be okay to collect Vi and the boys, right?"

"Right," Logan confirmed. "Have a good afternoon, I love you."

Veronica smiled softly and said, "I love you too."

Veronica walked back into her office and sat down at her desk to continue the Connors case.

Just as she'd pulled up the case details a ringing noise came from her desk drawer.

Veronica paused, confused. The phone in that drawer was untraceable, and she gave no one the number. She only ever used it for calls where secrecy was of the utmost importance. Who on Earth could be calling it? Who ever it was, must be calling about something important and confidential, and they must have a lot of resources at their hands to get her number.

She opened the drawer, pulled out the cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?" Veronica said warily.

"Agent Mars," the voice on the other ended said.

Veronica looked appropriately shocked.

"Yes?" Veronica replied, confused. "I'm not an agent anymore, and I'm not Veronica Mars anymore."

"Sorry Mars, force of habit," the gruff voice on the other end said. "You'll always be Mars to me."

"Look, I don't mean to sound rude, but who is this?" Veronica asked.

"Jesus Mars, it's Agent Casper," Agent Casper said brusquely.

"God, Agent Casper, I'm sorry, I just couldn't place your voice," Veronica said apologetically. Agent Casper had been one of her superiors in the Bureau, which explained how he'd managed to ring her extremely private number.

"Yes, well that is concerning Mars, especially seeing as I haven't called you for a chit-chat. We want your help for something, something top secret and important, but if you can't even place my voice…," Casper's voice dwindled off.

"My brain works just as well as ever," Veronica said tartly. "Just not on the first day of school."

"Right. Yes. Well, we need to see you as soon as possible, so you when can you get up to Washington?" Casper asked.

"I haven't even said if I'm available for anything," Veronica replied.

"We know you Mars, you're always available," Casper countered. "So will we see you tomorrow morning? As I mentioned before, it's for a very important case."

"The soonest I could get there is Monday," Veronica said slowly, quickly figuring out the logistics of managing her family.

"That's not soon enough. Can you make it to the Los Angeles office tomorrow morning?" Casper suggested.

"Yeah, I can do that," Veronica agreed. "This doesn't mean that I'm going to take on whatever it is you want me to do though."

"Oh, but I think you will though," Casper said confidently. "I've already said it, but we know you Echolls. See? I even know your real name."

"Right you are," Veronica said noncommittally. "I'll be there, say ten tomorrow morning?"

"Very good Mars," Casper replied. "Oh, make sure you tell **no one** about this. Not your husband, not your father, not Cindy Casablancas, not Lily Kane. We really do know you, the current you, as well as the old you. See you tomorrow."

Casper hung up the phone and Veronica's head was spinning.

It was quite some time since she'd been called 'Mars', and it definitely took her right back to her days in the FBI and the Secret Service. She knew that the Bureau could get their hands on pretty much any information they wanted, and getting details on her would be fairly easy, especially if they really wanted to know what she was up to. It was clear that they did want to know, and were quite up to date on her life, but the question was, why?

While Veronica was busily thinking over what had transpired on her call with Agent Casper, Lily Kane, or Lily Armistead as she now was, was chasing her son around the living room of her house. She and Liam lived on the beach, right between her old home, and the Echolls' home.

"Dylan, time to stop running now and come to Mommy," Lily instructed him as she sat down on the couch. "For such a little person you sure have a lot of energy!"

Dylan raced over to her and she pulled him onto her lap.

"Where's Meggie?" Flynn asked.

"Maegan's napping, like she normally does at this time," Lily answered. "She'll be up soon. Do you want to go and play in your toy room until then?"

"Yes Mommy," Dylan said, quite happy at the suggestion.

She let him climb off her lap and he raced off towards his play room. It was actually his and Maegan's, but before Maegan was born it had been just his, and she was still too young to fully use the room anyway.

Lily leaned back on the couch with a sigh, she adored her children, but sometimes she wished she they required less care and that she could go back to work, at least part-time. Lily had ended up graduating with a major in Media Studies from Berkeley. In completing her degree she's studied a bit of business, economics and French. She was actually quite fluent in French, which had been useful with Duncan's vineyard in France. Once Lily graduated Duncan had offered her a position in Kane Industries, working in the Media Relations section, and after some thought, Lily had accepted his offer. She'd worked there until she'd had Dylan, and ever since she'd been on maternity leave.

Liam had ended up majoring in Accounting at Stanford, and was an accountant in his father's law firm. It worked quite well for him, he could still work with his father, without having to be a lawyer. It meant that his hours were a lot less crazy than if he'd been a lawyer, but he and Lily still had plenty of money. They both had good incomes and had received large trust funds when they were twenty-one anyway.

Lily didn't want to leave her children in the care of a nanny, but she knew she and Liam would have to talk about maybe finding some way of her returning to work, at least part time. She was too restless.

Back across town Veronica was still thinking over her phone call, and was very intrigued by the mere thought of her meeting with Agent Casper the next day, and was quite desirous to know what the Bureau wanted her for. She hadn't worked for them for close to twenty years, so the call was very out of the blue. When Veronica had resigned she'd left the FBI on amicable terms, but hadn't held onto her life there when she'd moved back to Neptune, and she didn't regret it, but the idea of one last case with them was quite an exciting prospect.

She wanted to keep thinking about it, but it wasn't practical. She had several cases to work on, children and a husband to go home to, and plans to make to go to Los Angeles the next day.

Veronica determinedly turned her attention back to the Connors case and worked steadily on it until her clock read three.

Then she packed up all her things and left the office, to go home and see how her children had survived the first day back at school after summer.

**AN: Please review :) If I get 6 reviews for this chapter I'll post chapter 3 **AND **chapter ****4 tomorrow!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi everyone, thanks for your reviews! Thanks Angel for taking the time to review all three chapters! Thanks Nichole and Glitterbug, and thanks Ali-cat for your last review for I Was Here!**

**I got six reviews, so I'll post two chapters today, but I won't put the second one up until a little later :) Probably early afternoon California time.**

**By the way, I know it's weird to think of Veronica as 50, so don't! I don't. I really don't envision her as 50. She'll always just be Veronica to me :)**

**Chapter 3**

Logan was sitting out the front of Ensign Middle school and he rolled down his window and yelled, "Violet, you can talk to Dakota later! We need to go get the boys, **now**! Come on, get in the car."

Violet looked mortified and said a hurried goodbye to Dakota and walked quickly towards the car.

"Hi James, tell your dad he sucks, he'll know what I mean!" Logan called to him, after noticing him near by. Logan and Dick had been playing computer games online during the afternoon before school pick up.

James grinned in response and nodded. Logan noticed James checking out his daughter as she walked towards the car. He cringed, then decided to turn a blind eye to it, it was the easiest option for the time being. James turned and walked off, and Violet got into the front passenger seat next to Logan.

"Daddy, did you have to yell like that?" Violet whined.

"Violet, did you have to stand around talking to Dakota?" Logan mimicked.

Violet huffed and Logan chuckled.

"Put your seatbelt on, we need to get over to the elementary school for the boys," Logan informed her.

Violet obediently buckled up, and Logan pulled out from the curb.

"So, how was your day?" Logan asked.

"Okay, it was weird being here with out Aubrey though," Violet replied.

"Well, you were only with her for one year, and you'll be back with her in a couple of years," Logan said rationally. "So, apart from missing your sister, what else did you do?"

"Oh I went to class, saw friends. It's kind of like summer, just with bells and a whole lot more work," Violet replied.

"So it was alright then?" Logan asked in conformation.

"Yeah," Violet replied.

"You must get that from your mother, because you certainly didn't get it from me!" Logan exclaimed humorously.

Violet grinned and they pulled up out the front of Neptune Elementary. Tom and Ollie were waiting out the front. As soon as they noticed their father's car they raced towards it, actually raced. They were just less than a year apart, and got on very well, they were practically like twins. They even looked fairly similar, except Oliver had blond hair and blue eyes, and Tom had brown hair and green eyes.

The boys jumped in the back of the car, their school bags dropped in a jumble on the floor.

"How was your day boys?" Logan asked.

"Awesome, Honey tripped over during break and tore a hole in her jeans," Tom said gleefully.

"Thomas, that's not very nice," Logan told him firmly. "Honey is your friend, you should be nice to her." Logan had wanted to laugh at his son's outrageous comment, but when it came to disciplining his children he went off one rule, 'What would Ronnie do?'.

"I was nice to her Dad, me and Ollie even made sure she was alright," Tom replied. "It was only later that we laughed."

"Ollie and I," Logan automatically corrected.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Tom replied.

Logan grinned and let it go.

"What about you Ollie, did you do anything besides help Honey, then laugh at poor Honey?" Logan asked. "And please tell me you did not spend the day teasing or pranking Aurora."

Oliver and Aurora were the same age, and they usually got along extremely well. However when they didn't, it was because Ollie was looking for a bit of fun, and chose to tease her or prank her, and she didn't like that at all.

"No Dad, I was very good, it's only the first day of school," Ollie replied, as if his answer was option.

"Yes, you've all got the whole rest of the year to cause mischief," Logan said wryly. "We'll here we are. Go inside and put your things away, then Aubrey and your mother should be home."

The boys raced inside, they raced most places, and Violet followed after them at a more sedate pace.

Then, just as Logan had predicted, after they'd put their things away, Caroline dropped Aubrey home, and Veronica arrived five minutes later.

"Hi Mom, we're going to go and use the Wii now," Tom told his mother.

"No you're not," Veronica replied. "You're going to sit here at the bench, yes you, and Ollie, and Violet and Aubrey. You're going to drink milk and eat cookies, then you're going to do your homework. Then you can play video games."

Tom and Oliver looked resigned to their fate, after all, they got to eat their mother's cookies.

"Girls, come down stairs for a snack," Veronica called up the stairs.

She walked back to the boys in the kitchen, her heels clicking the whole way. The clicking reminded her that her feet were in fact rather sore. She kicked the sensible black heels off, or perhaps not so sensible, due to their height, but they were entirely suitable for a day at the office.

Aubrey and Violet came down stairs and hopped up at the kitchen bench next to their brothers and each grabbed a cookie.

Veronica started by asking Aubrey about her day.

"So Aub, how was your first day of high school?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, were you crowned queen yet?" Violet teasingly asked.

"School was good, Caroline and Justin were there, so it wasn't like I was alone. And no, I don't think there will be a queen while we're there. There's already Caroline and me, then there will by you and Aurora and eventually Honey. It'll be stupid just having one of us as 'queen'. I think the Neptune High 09ers might be a bit different when we're all there," Aubrey explained.

"Gee, I was just joking Aub, I didn't need all that," Violet replied.

Aubrey sniffed, then turned back to her mother.

"Cheer tryouts are tomorrow afternoon, and I think I will go. I'll just be on the junior team, but I don't care, it should be fun. Caroline will be there too, so we'll both just come here afterwards for dinner," Aubrey told Veronica. "I mean, is that alright Mom?"

"Sure. Is Caroline picking you up in the morning too?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, she loves driving anywhere. The excitement of having her license hasn't worn off quite yet," Aubrey replied.

"I think it's more the car that Uncle Dick bought her for her sixteenth," Veronica replied in amusement. Dick had bought Caroline a brand new, shiny red convertible BMW, and Caroline adored it. Mac hadn't exactly been in favour of the idea, something more sensible would've pleased her more, but Caroline was Dick's princess, so he got his way of course.

Aubrey grinned in reply, and Veronica turned to ask the rest of the kids about their days.

Their responses were very similar to what they'd given Logan, and Veronica's replies had been similar to his.

Once their chat and snack time was over they each left for their rooms and settled down to do their homework, while Veronica went off to find Logan.

She found him in his office, working once again on his screen play.

"Logan," Veronica said, to get his attention.

Logan swivelled in his chair and said, "Ronnie! What can I do for you?"

Logan held out his arms, so Veronica obligingly went over and sat down in his lap.

"Well, the kids have had snacks, and are off doing their homework. I'll go check on the boys soon, but I just wanted to let you know that I need to go up to L.A. tomorrow for work. I've got a meeting for a case," Veronica said smoothly.

"Do you need me to take Vi and the boys to school again?" Logan asked helpfully.

"That would be great," Veronica said, kissing him quickly. "I'll need to be out of here by eight thirty, and I should be home by four."

"We've got everyone coming here for dinner, remember Sugarpus?" Logan reminded her.

"I haven't forgotten. Rosie takes care of most things anyway, and Mac, Amanda, Eva and Lily all bring something as well, so there's nothing to worry about," Veronica replied.

"Big meeting tomorrow?" Logan asked.

"I don't know yet, it's just a preliminary meeting about a new case," Veronica replied truthfully.

"Okay. Well, I've got to finish off this section here, and you'd better go check on those sons of yours," Logan said playfully.

"Oh, they're definitely your sons," Veronica retorted. "I'm sure I'll find them playing some video game or other."

Meanwhile, somewhere across the other side of town, Justin, Dakota, Tyler and Jasmine Fennel were all sitting at their dining table with their homework spread out around them. Their mother was due back any minute from her shift at the hospital, so Dakota had set them all up to look studious for their mother's arrival.

The Fennels lived in an upper middle class home, in a nice suburb of Neptune, it was in between the 90909 zip and the 90902 zip. It wasn't the first house Wallace and Amanda had lived in after their marriage as they had bought a new home when they'd found out Amanda was pregnant with twins, it was a necessity that the find somewhere larger to live.

"Dakota, put your phone away, Mom's going to be home any minute and she won't like it if you're texting," Justin warned his sister.

"I know Justin," Dakota retorted in a tired voice. "Just you make sure you're doing the right thing, and I'll look after me."

"That's Mom's car!" Jasmine announced.

Tyler slid out of his chair and ran to the window to check.

"Yeah, it's Mom," he confirmed, dashing to back to his chair.

"Okay, just all do your homework," Dakota instructed. "Wait, shouldn't one of us get the door for Mom?"

"I'll do it," Justin offered. "All my stuff is spread out anyway, we look like we're working hard."

Justin walked to the front door and opened it for his mother, who had just walked onto the front step.

"Hi Mom," Justin said.

"Hi honey," Amanda replied. "I stopped at the market on the way home, you want to come and help me grab a few bags?"

"Sure, I was in the middle of my homework, but I can take a break," Justin replied, walking back to the car with his mother.

"So, how was your first day at Neptune High?" Amanda asked.

"Interesting. Dad was right, the whole social ranking thing there is a big deal. It's pretty different compared to middle school," Justin replied.

"Caroline and Aubrey didn't exclude you?" Amanda asked in concern.

"Of course not Mom, they dragged me in with their circle, as they've always done. And I still got those looks from the other kids, you know the 'Why is he with them?' look. Of course anyone who came from middle school knows, but Neptune High is a lot bigger than Spring View," Justin explained.

"I thought everyone knew the Echolls and Casablancas kids, and their life stories?" Amanda asked in amusement.

"Sure they do Mom, but I'm not usually in the summary when the gossip about them goes around. I'm more of an afterthought, 'Oh, the black kid is Justin Fennel. They all, like, grew up together'," Justin said, affecting a girly voice.

Amanda laughed as they set the groceries down on the kitchen bench, then said, "You know, I think you're going to be just fine."

Justin grinned then turned to go back to his homework.

Back in the 09er zipcode Eva Kane was standing in the kitchen of the Kane home, with a phone to her ear.

"Thanks for ringing to check on Honey, Veronica," Eva said. "She was more embarrassed than hurt. No, she didn't say anything about the boys laughing, just that they picked her up and dusted her off."

"Oh good," Veronica replied. "That's what Tom and Ollie told me, but they're not always discreet, so I just wanted to check that they hadn't accidentally hurt Honey's feelings."

"No worries," Eva replied.

"How are things at the station?" Veronica asked conversationally.

"Pretty good, I've got my shifts shorted so that they're while Carter and Honey are at school, which is nice. Duncan keeps pointing out that I could resign whenever I want, but I like my job, I'd be bored sitting here all day, drinking tea, or whatever it is 09er wives do," Eva replied.

"Oh, believe me I know," Veronica said with a chuckle. "Logan's never suggested I give up my work, he's knows I'd go crazy without it. It's not like the cases I take these days are very dangerous anyway."

"Exactly," Eva agreed. "Anyway, I think I'd better run. The kids are too quiet, which means they must be getting up to some sort of mischief."

Eva hung up the phone and walked through the house, looking for her children. She found them lying on the floor of their play room, and surprisingly, they had their homework out. The TV however was on, but they seemed to be working, mostly, from what Eva observed.

She smiled tenderly at their little forms. Both had dark brown hair, and their skin was golden from long days in the summer sun. Carter was like his father in disposition, studious and responsible, but still liked to have fun.

Honey was more like Eva had been at her age, full of giggles and life, and a little too much curiosity.

Eva had finally fallen pregnant with in 2024, and he'd been born in October, just after Lily had started her junior year at Berkeley.

Honey had followed just less two years later, and had completed their family.

Lily spoiled both of them rotten, and they in turn adored her. They also adored their niece and nephew, Lily and Liam's, Dylan and Maegan. Honey and Carter had been quite amused at becoming an aunt and an uncle at such a young age.

Duncan however had taken a little while to adjust to the fact that he was going to be a grandfather, even though Lily had been 28 and married for six years. Eva hadn't had as much of a problem, even though she was even younger than Duncan. It was easier for her because Lily was her step-daughter, so her children weren't her biological grandchildren. Once Dylan had arrived, and Duncan had seen him and held him, he had embraced being a grandfather wholeheartedly, so things in the Kane world had continued to sail smoothly.

Eva stopped her reminiscing and finally said, "Okay you two, the TV goes off until you've finished your homework."

Honey and Carter whipped around as if they'd been caught taking cookies from the cookie jar.

"Yes, I've been standing here watching you both. Go on, switch it off. You can put it back on when you've finished," Eva told them. Then she turned and went upstairs to change out of her uniform.

Back at the Echolls' house, Aubrey and Violet were sitting on Aubrey's bed, talking.

"So, did you meet any new guys?" Violet asked eagerly. Their idea of a post-school chat was a little different from their mother's.

"Vi, there were pretty much all the same guys there that I went to elementary and middle school with," Aubrey replied.

"Yeah, but surely there were some new guys. Neptune High's heaps bigger than Spring View," Violet pressed.

"Well, yes," Aubrey said slowly. "There are a some new guys, but only a couple of them are 09ers in my class. They moved to Neptune over the summer."

"What are their names?" Violet asked quickly.

"Oh Sam something and Aiden something," Aubrey answered.

"You don't sound very interested," Violet remarked.

"That's because I'm not. But there are some really hot older 09er guys that I saw today," Aubrey disclosed.

"We know all the 09ers," Violet said, confused.

"Yeah, but I haven't really had anything to do with them since they've been at Neptune High, and besides, I didn't really pay much attention to them when I was younger, Daddy saw to that," Aubrey said dryly.

Violet giggled and said, "Oh, I can't wait to see his face when you tell him you have a date with a boy."

Aubrey looked traumatised and said, "Violet! I'm never, ever, telling him that I have a date with a boy. I'll just date in secret, then I guess at some point he'll get an invitation to my wedding."

Violet shrieked with laughter, then said between giggles, "Oh Aub, you might be able to keep your love life from Dad, but not from Mom, and she'll tell Dad."

Aubrey looked crestfallen for a moment, then said, "Oh well, it's not like anyone's asked me out yet. I'll face that problem when it comes."

"Ha, I give it four weeks," Violet retorted.

"Give what for weeks?" Aubrey queried.

"By the end of the fourth week of school, someone will have asked you out," Violet said confidently.

"Dinner time kids!" Veronica hollered, ending Aubrey and Violet's discussion.

**AN: Please review, it actually makes my day to hear what you guys think!**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Well, here it is. Veronica's headed to the FBI office in L.A. I did a fair amount of research into this part of the story, but I must admit I am far from an expert, so there are things that will be inaccurate, sorry!**

**Also, I came up with this upcoming case all on my own. It was SO hard, trying to think of something that didn't relate to anything covered on VM (murders, the Mob, white collar crime), and I didn't want to use any ideas that other fanfic author's had used either, so this took me a while!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! (Thanks Nichole and Angel! I really appreciate you both continuing to review :))**

**Chapter 4**

On Monday morning Veronica walked into her closet and looked through her selection of business suits. There were greys, browns, beige, black, cream, pant suits and skirt suits. They were all expertly made, but in the end Veronica selected a black skirt suit, black was the typical uniform for FBI agents as she well knew.

In her days in the Bureau she tended to wear a pants suit, but she wasn't in the FBI anymore, and she wanted to wear a skirt suit, so she was going to. It was partly because she liked the suit, and partly because she wanted to send a message, she wasn't Veronica Mars, FBI agent anymore. She was Veronica Echolls, wife, mother of four, and very a very successful and highly paid, independent Private Investigator.

Veronica buttoned her cream, silk blouse and tucked it in to the waist of her fitted suit skirt. Then she slipped her nylon covered feet into stylish black high heels and walked over to her dresser to pick up her jewellery. On went her wedding ring and engagement ring, a set of diamond studs went into her ears, and diamond and sapphire pendant necklace was secured around her neck. The necklace had been a gift from Logan for her last birthday.

Veronica ran a brush through her blonde hair and left it hanging down her back. Then she walked back to the closet and took the suit jacket off its hanger and shrugged into it.

"Ronnie, I'm just about to leave with the kids," Logan said, walking into the bedroom.

He stopped short as he took in her appearance. Then he whistled.

"Wow Sugarpus, it must be an important meeting, you look hot!" Logan exclaimed, practically leering at her.

"It's just a suit," Veronica said, nevertheless pleased at his attention. Even as the years went on, Logan still seemed to keep his insatiable desire for sex.

"Well, you make it look very good. Do we have time for a quickie?" Logan asked hopefully.

"No, you just said you have to take the kids to school, I have to leave, oh, and the kids would probably die of awkwardness," Veronica replied. "Try your luck tonight."

"Oh, I will," Logan said with a smirk. Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her thoroughly.

"Logan, now I'm going to have to reapply my lipstick," Veronica said, lightly frustrated.

Logan just grinned and said, "Have a good day Sugarpus!"

Veronica followed him down the stairs, just in time to see Aubrey about to step out the front door. Caroline had just pulled up out the front.

"Bye Aubrey, have a good day!" Veronica said.

Aubrey quickly turned and said, "Oh, bye Mom, you too!"

Thirty seconds later Tom, Oliver and Violet followed Aubrey out the front door and each said cheerfully, "Bye Mom!"

Logan stopped at Veronica's side before following them to the Mercedes and kissed her and said, "I love you."

"And I love you," Veronica replied. "See you this afternoon."

Logan left, and Veronica walked around the house, collecting the things she'd need for her meeting.

She went outside and put her briefcase and laptop into her Audi, then went back inside to collect her purse and cell phone.

A mug of coffee went into the cup holder in next to her seat, and a muffin was perched next to it. Food was usually a priority with Veronica, but she'd been too focused thinking about her meeting, and getting ready for it to have a substantial breakfast.

Veronica made her way out of Neptune and headed onto the I-605 towards Los Angeles. Sometimes when the Echolls headed to L.A. they took the PCH, as it was more scenic route, but it was also a little slower, so it wasn't an option for Veronica when she had a meeting.

As Veronica drove she drank her coffee, ate her muffin when possible, and listened to the morning news on the radio. The hour long drive seemed to fly by, as Veronica was busily thinking about what her meeting would entail. She had told Agent Casper that there was no guarantee that she would take on whatever case they were offering her, but there was little doubt in her mind that she wouldn't. She was getting that old feeling, that relentless desire to solve whatever problem there was. The thrill of the chase, or case, was an enticing prospect for Veronica.

Veronica turned onto Wilshire Boulevard, then turned into the Los Angeles FBI office and headed for the parking lot. She parked her car, stowed her briefcase and laptop in the trunk, grabbed her purse, and headed for the building's entrance.

Veronica walked to the reception desk and said, "Good morning, Veronica Echolls to see Agent Mark Casper."

"Of course. I'll just need you to sign in here, and I'll need to see some ID, then I can issue you a visitor's pass," the receptionist said cheerfully.

Veronica complied, thinking of how simple it had been, just to flash her badge and enter her workplace. Only, it wasn't her workplace anymore, and that was her choice, and a choice she was happy with.

"Thanks Mrs Echolls, here is your pass, if you just go down the corridor there you'll find the elevator. Take it to the tenth floor and you'll find a waiting area there," the receptionist said helpfully.

Veronica smiled politely and said, "Thanks very much."

She walked off down the familiar corridor, she knew where she was going, she had spent some time in the L.A. office during her time in the FBI. She'd been so close to Neptune, but hadn't visited, it had been too much for her then. Keith had of course gone and visited her, but he hadn't said anything about it to Veronica's friends, it just would've opened too many cans of worms.

Veronica got into the elevator, and alighted when it when it stopped on the tenth floor.

Veronica walked up to another reception desk and said again, "Veronica Echolls to see Agent Casper."

"Good morning Mrs Echolls, Agent Casper will be right with you," the agent at the desk replied. "Please just take a seat over there."

Presently Agent Casper appeared. He was a man of average stature, in fairly good shape, and looked to be in his late fifties.

"Mars!" Casper said in greeting.

"Agent Casper," Veronica greeted him.

"How about we take a brief tour?" Casper suggested.

Veronica looked mildly puzzled, but said, "Of course, sir."

They walked down a corridor and Casper made hand gestures that looked like he was pointing something out, but instead he was saying, "You're a fairly recognisable face, Veronica. I need to make it look like you're here for a visit, a catch up if you will. What we need you for is of the utmost secrecy, even around here. We don't think anyone in the media will have taken note of your visit here today, but you never know. So if anyone asks why you were here, it you had a meeting in town, and stopped by to say hello."

Veronica nodded and said, "I see."

"Good," Casper replied cheerfully, keeping up there façade. "By the way, Butterfield heard that you were coming in today for a brief visit, and demanded I bring you up to say hello. You remember him right?"

"How could I forget, we started at the bottom together, and I believe he's almost at the top now," Veronica answered.

"That's right. So we'll take the elevator up to his floor," Casper said.

They got in the elevator, alone and Casper said, "This was we can have our proper meeting, but in secrecy. Butterfield really does want to see you, he'll be in at the meeting."

Veronica nodded, her brain working fast to try and comprehend what in the hell was going on.

The floor Casper and Veronica got off at was very quiet, and clearly a high security floor.

"We can speak relatively freely up here," Casper said. "Just come down this way, we're using the room on the end here."

Casper let them into the meeting room, where a man, presumably Agent Butterfield, was looking through a file.

At the sound of the door he stood and boomed, "Mars! Good to see you. Casper here been giving you the rundown?"

"Good too see you Butterfield. All I know is that everything is top secret," Veronica replied, shaking Butterfield's hand.

"Good, that's just as it should be. Take a seat Mars," Butterfield instructed.

Veronica sat, and just as it looked like Casper was about to say something Veronica said, "Excuse me, but just one thing before we begin. I know I was always Mars to you when I was here, but I haven't been Mars for a long time, as you would know. So would you call me Veronica or Echolls, if you must, it feels a little strange being called Mars again."

"Of course Ma-, Veronica," Casper replied.

"Sure. Shall we begin now, Casper?" Butterfield asked.

"Yes," Casper agreed, reaching for a file from the table.

"Veronica, I suppose you would've heard about some of the terrorist activity, aimed at the African American community around the country over the last few years?" Casper began.

"Why, yes, I have," Veronica replied. "It's hard to ignore such awful crimes."

Over the last ten or so years, crimes against the African American community, had been covered widely in the news. There were bombings, fires, shootings, beatings, lynchings. The attacks were often very gruesome and violet, they had not seen that type of extremity of white supremacist crimes since the Civil Rights movement, almost a century ago.

On each case, the media nearly always reported that no one had been apprehended for the crime, but it had never been mentioned that the FBI believed all the cases were linked. From what Veronica could already tell, that was top secret information, and probably believed to be essential in eventually solving the case.

"Yes, I suppose you could say we feel the same way," Casper continued. "We've been working on the crimes since they began, back in 2030, and as far as we can tell, the crimes are the work of a white supremacist group, operating out of Southern California. They have been the brains behind essentially all of the attacks across the country, on African American groups, for almost the last decade. The problem is, we haven't been able to get any real concrete leads. They're too well run, and appear to have a lot of financial resources at their hands. However, recently, we got a break. It's to do with this man."

Casper pulled a large photo out of the folder, and held it up for Veronica to see.

"Why, I know who that is," Veronica said, a little shocked.

"You watched _General Hospital_?" Butterfield asked, in turn, a little shocked.

"No, no," Veronica said hastily. "He lives just down the road from Duncan Kane. I'm sure you know of my relationship with the Kane family."

"Yes, of course we do," Casper said. "Butterfield was just having a little fun. We know your relationship with the Kane's, and your proximity to Brandon Keating. It's part of the reason we've selected you to help with this case."

"And what would be the other reason?" Veronica asked slowly.

"Well, mainly your current position in society," Casper answered. "Now, don't get all annoyed. It's not just your husband and your name that we're using you for, we know your capabilities as an investigator, and they're absolutely essential for this case."

"I must admit, I've never liked being used for my husband, or surname," Veronica replied. "However, you still haven't told me what it is exactly what you want me to do, or where Brandon Keating fits into all this."

"Well, our profilers, together with some of our agents on this white supremacist case, believe that Keating may be a part of the group, and that he's funding parts of their activities. Apparently ten years on _General Practice_, among other things, makes you quite a lot of money," Casper said.

"We however think he was born a racist idiot," Butterfield joked dryly.

"So what is it exactly that you want me to do?" Veronica asked.

"Well, what we need is, is someone with an in with Keating," Casper answered. "And you, Veronica, are perfect for that. Your husband's line of work, along with where you, and the Kanes live is ideal. You also have the right look, the white skin and blonde hair fits right in with the people who we believe Keating associates with."

"We want you to befriend him, it needs to be done casually, of course," Butterfield said, taking over. "We need you to develop a friendship with him, preferably draw him into your circle. We want you to keep living your life exactly as you do, that's essential to your involvement on this case. We need you to study Keating up close, you were always a good profiler. Learn his exact habits, try and get access to his home, unobtrusively of course. We know you work closely with Cindy Casablancas as times, and you may use her if need be, but she cannot know that you're working with us."

"So, what is my role, exactly?" Veronica asked slowly. "Am I FBI again? Do you want me completely involved in this case, or am I just a specialist on Brandon Keating?"

"More of a specialist on Keating," Casper replied. "We're hoping you can get information from him. Meeting locations, names of other key members. We're reasonably sure that he is definitely involved with these white supremacist, but confirming that first would be a good start."

"Just one thing," Veronica said. "You would be aware that one of my best friend's is African American? Wallace Fennel?"

"We're aware, but we don't think it will really be an issue. We're hoping your husband and his position in Hollywood would make the Fennels untouchable, as they're your friends. With luck, Keating should just ignore them," Butterfield replied.

"Right," Veronica said uncertainly. "And if he doesn't want anything to do with me because of Wallace?"

"Then we'll work something else out," Casper said. "However, we really don't think that will happen. We think you're the perfect person, or agent for this job Veronica."

"So will you do it Veronica? I'll even add the clichéd, 'Your country needs you bit', if necessary," Butterfield said with a tight grin.

"Of course I'll do it," Veronica replied. "It's not high risk, you don't need me for anything particularly dangerous, it's more profiling and gathering intel. It's essentially what I do now, so Logan would have no objections."

"But Logan can't know, he can't know anything. Nobody can," Casper reiterated firmly.

"Yes, I do understand that Casper," Veronica said shortly. "However, explaining to my husband why I think we should get all chummy with Brandon Keating might be a bit of an issue."

"We trust that you'll think of something, Agent Echolls," Butterfield said seriously.

"So I'm an agent again?" Veronica asked.

"Sort of a special, short term agent, but yes, you're a part of the Bureau again," Butterfield replied. "When you need to meet with us, you can come up here. You'll be based out of this office. It's close for you, and you can just say you have a meeting up here for another case. We'll make sure you're supplied with all the necessary technology you could possibly need for this case, and you will need to attend a couple of training days, merely for procedure."

"And I suppose I'll need to think of some clever excuse to explain to my husband and family why I'll need to be in L.A. for a few days straight?" Veronica asked, almost tartly.

"Careful Echolls. You may be a special sort of agent, and you're practically doing us a favour, but we're both still your superiors," Butterfield said shortly. "Remember, I know how to deal with you too."

"Wonderful," Veronica said dryly. "I mean, yes sir."

"Well, I believe that takes care of everything," Butterfield said, winding up. "Casper will go over a few paper work things with you, and work out details for training, and setting you up with the necessary information and equipment. I trust I'll be hearing from you again soon, Echolls."

"Yes sir, of course," Veronica said formally, mindful of the small reprimand that had been given to her just minutes before.

Veronica stayed with Casper a little while longer, filling out forms, and setting up times and dates for her to return to the office.

"Casper, if I'm to be here training, having meeting, and whatnot, how are we supposed to keep it a secret? As you've said before, I'm somewhat recognisable, and apparently that's part of my appeal for this case, but it makes it harder to keep my involvement here secret," Veronica said, raising a problem that had been bothering her.

"Well, every time you come, you'll need to bring a different car, preferably a hire car. Actually, definitely a hire car, something inconspicuous. Wear dark colours, sunglasses, probably even a wig. We'll set things up so that you can enter via a quiet back entrance, you'll have your badge, and you'll be high clearance, and only high clearance people will know your real purpose. For others here, we will have to make up some sort of story. It will probably be something to do with a white collar crime case, as you tend to work on them these days, so it makes sense that you could be hear liaising about that," Casper explained.

"Wow," Veronica said. "You really wanted me for this, didn't you? You've already put so much thought and planning into my involvement."

"There wasn't anyone else we even considered, Veronica," Casper said seriously.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :) The more reviews I get the faster I will update!**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Thanks for your reviews from the last chapter, Ali-cat, Angel, ptitemel38, you totally made my day! (Ali-cat I have a huge word document just filled with planning notes lol) (Angel, I am so glad you like the family dynamic, and don't worry, nothing super bad will happen, you might've noticed, I like happy times lol)**

**Chapter 5**

When Veronica left the FBI building and walked towards her car, her head was spinning. The information that she had just been told, and the task that she'd been asked to do had her mind working in over drive.

First and foremost she needed to work out some sort of cover story, actually a couple of cover stories. She needed a reason for why she'd been travelling up to L.A. for work more frequently, and especially for the three days she'd be spending there next week.

Veronica and Casper had made plans for her to be in the L.A. office doing training, obtaining technology, and learning all of the details concerning the case.

The trips to L.A. would be easy enough to explain, she could just say that she had a new case which involved a number of meetings in L.A. Her reasons for wanting to draw Brandon Keating into their circle would be a little more difficult, indeed, drawing him into their circle would be something that involved a lot of thought and planning.

Veronica looked down at the new FBI badge that she'd received, just before she and Casper parted company. It was a little strange to see her face on the badge, but had the name read, 'Veronica Echolls', not 'Veronica Mars'. She'd have to keep her badge well hidden, otherwise she would be no chance in keeping her cover. Her cover was supposed to be living her life as normal, and keeping her involvement at the Bureau extremely secret. How she was supposed to do that, when all she wanted to do was tell someone what had just happened in her meeting?

"_I'll just have to internalise_," Veronica thought determinedly. She'd done it before, and she could do it again. Confidentiality was key in her work anyway, she'd just have to work hard to keep everything to herself, at least regarding her new case.

Veronica drove straight to her office, without even stopping for lunch, though it was well past lunch time. She'd been too busy thinking about the 'Keating case', as she'd decided to label it.

Veronica walked hurriedly into the office and said quickly, "Hi Lucy. Any messages?"

"Good afternoon Veronica. Yes, Mr Connors called again," Lucy replied.

"Right, thanks," Veronica said, and walked into her office and sat down at her desk.

She quickly set up her laptop, and called Mr Connors back. Mr Connors' call about his case, reminded Veronica that she still had a business to run, and clients to attend to, besides her new role with the FBI. She'd have to finish the cases she was on, then scale down her amount of clients she took on, otherwise she wouldn't have enough time to work on the Keating case.

Veronica worked steadily on her current cases until it was time for her to go home.

As Veronica stood poised on her doorstep, ready to insert her key into the lock, she mentally prepared herself to enter her home for the evening. She was Veronica Echolls, private investigator, wife of Logan Echolls, mother of four children, and she was having a whole bunch of people over for dinner. Anything else in her life, such as FBI work, needed to remain secret, and for the evening, needed to take a backseat.

"I'm home!" Veronica called, stepping in the door. "Kids, where are you?"

"I'm in my room!" Violet yelled. "Hi Mom."

"I'm in my room too," Ollie called as well.

"Me too!" Tom added.

"I'll come see you all soon," Veronica said, walking upstairs to Logan and her bedroom.

Veronica quickly stowed the case in which she kept her gun, in the back of her closet. The lock on it was very effective, as it needed to be when you were the mother of young boys. Veronica always left it in the back of her closet for extra safety, when she brought it home, as she sometimes left it in her safe in her office. From now on though, she planned on bringing it home most days, she didn't want to be with out it because of her new case, and she had also carefully hidden her FBI badge in the case. It seemed the safest place for it, and the most logical.

Veronica then changed out of her suit and heels, and into a comfortable pair of jeans and a casual blouse. Then she put on a comfortable pair of flats, and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. It was time to be Veronica Echolls, mother and hostess.

"Vi, is Aubrey not home yet?" Veronica asked, sticking her head into Violet's room.

"Nope, cheerleader tryouts, remember?" Violet replied.

"Right. Are you working on your homework now?" Veronica asked.

"Yes Mom, and I'll be done by the time the others start to arrive. I know the usual Thursday drill," Violet said patiently.

"Of course you do," Veronica replied with a smile. "I'm going to see what your brothers are up to now."

Veronica went down the hall and stuck her head into Oliver's room first. He was lying on his bed, using some sort of gaming device.

"Ollie, have you finished your homework?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, so I'm playing with this until Tyler and Carter get here," Ollie replied.

"Okay. Did Dad get you a snack when you got home?" Veronica asked.

"No, but Rosita did," Ollie replied. "Don't worry Mom, everything's fine."

"Okay, I'll see you downstairs later," Veronica said, turning and crossing the hall to where Tom's room was.

Tom was on his floor, playing with his Transformer toys.

Veronica looked fondly at him, then went over and sat down on his bed. Tom looked up at her, grinned and said, "Hi Mommy."

"Come and give me a cuddle," Veronica said, opening her arms.

"But I'm a big boy Mom, I'm ten now," Tom protested.

"But you'll always be my baby," Veronica told him. "And I promise not to tell your friends that you still give me hugs."

Tom got up, happy enough with that, and let Veronica hug him. She held tightly to him for a second, enjoying the brief simplicity of just holding her son.

"You can let me go now Mom," Tom said.

"Okay Tommy," Veronica said. They didn't tend to refer to Tom as Tommy anymore, it had been a more common nickname when he was smaller. "Is your homework done?"

"Yes Mom, Vi and Ollie both made me do it," Tom said, a little sadly.

"Okay, well you can play here until the others arrive," Veronica said.

"Others?" Tom asked in confusion.

"It's Thursday Tom, we've had Thursday night dinner's every second week since before you were born," Veronica said patiently.

"Oh, right. Yes Mom," Tom said cheerfully. Then he resumed his play on the floor.

Veronica left him and went to see Logan, who hadn't appeared when she'd arrived home. Veronica knew that meant he was very focused on whatever he was writing, so she headed towards his study to see him.

Once again he was typing busily at his laptop.

"Logan," Veronica said softly.

Logan didn't turn around, apparently he was so engrossed in his work that he hadn't noticed her.

"Logan," Veronica said again, louder this time.

Still no response.

"Logan, Aubrey's out the front kissing a boy," Veronica said.

"What?" Logan exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. "Where's my gun? Wait, I don't have one. Where's your gun? You have several, I just need one."

"Logan, relax, she's not home yet. I just wanted to get your attention," Veronica said soothingly.

"Ronnie, that wasn't very nice," Logan whined. "Wait, where is Aubrey?"

"At cheerleader tryouts, with Caroline. They should be here shortly," Veronica answered.

"Oh, okay. Hey, you're not in your smoking hot suit anymore!" Logan exclaimed, after suddenly noticing Veronica's outfit.

"Yes, when I get home from work, I get changed. That's what most people do. I seem to recall that you rush to change out of your suits when you get back from work," Veronica said teasingly.

"Very funny Sugarpus," Logan replied, kissing her forehead. "How was the drive to L.A.? Did your meeting go okay?"

"Drive was good, meeting went well, but the outcome involves me spending a bit more time in L.A. for the case I've taken on. Which reminds me, I have a conference in L.A. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. I'll just drive up and back each day, but they will be long days, I'll be home by dinner time," Veronica told him in an off-hand tone.

"Sounds like fun Sugarpus," Logan said dryly. "Well, Rosita and I will make sure the kids are fed, and I'll take them to school."

"I knew you would," Veronica replied cheerfully. "Are you about done here? The others will start to arrive soon."

"Do you remember when the 'others' were nine other people? Now it's like a hundred," Logan said dramatically.

"Logan, I know you're an English major and a writer, there's no need to try to impress me by your use of hyperbole," Veronica said, affecting a serious tone, contrasting her dancing eyes.

"But it is practically a hundred people," Logan retorted.

"It's nineteen people, plus us," Veronica replied. "That's not even a fifth of a hundred."

"Good job on the math honey, have you been studying," Logan snarked playfully.

"I'm going to the kitchen now, Logan," Veronica replied, shaking her head in amusement.

Veronica walked into the kitchen, satisfied with herself. She'd given Logan the information she needed to about her upcoming trips to L.A. and had then had quickly moved on via the use of some nice banter. Their banter was a finely practiced art form.

"Hello Mrs Veronica," Rosita said as Veronica entered the kitchen.

Veronica smothered a grin, Rosita had tried to call Veronica 'Mrs Echolls' when she'd started working for them. Veronica really didn't want to be called that, so the best compromise Rosita could manage was 'Mrs Veronica'. The name still caused Veronica amusement from time to time.

"Hi Rosita, how's everything going for dinner?" Veronica asked.

"Mr Logan and I extended the big table earlier, and I've almost finished with all the food," Rosita replied.

"What is there left that I can do?" Veronica asked. Rosita liked to think that the kitchen was her domain, so Veronica sometimes pretended to ask permission help.

"I haven't set the table yet," Rosita replied.

"Okay, the girls and I will take care of that then," Veronica said.

"Okay Mrs Veronica," Rosita said, returning to her food preparation.

Veronica left the kitchen to go upstairs and tell Violet that she needed to help set the table.

"_I spend half my time going up and down these stairs, checking on those kids and giving them messages_," Veronica thought wryly.

Just as she was about to start climbing the stairs the front door opened.

"Hi Mom!" Aubrey said cheerfully.

"Hi Aunt Veronica," Caroline echoed, just as cheerfully.

"How were tryouts?" Veronica asked.

"Great!" Aubrey exclaimed enthusiastically. "I think I went really well."

"You did great, you're sure to make the team," Caroline agreed. "I mean, everyone knows and likes you, and you're good, it's pretty much a done deal."

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow anyway," Aubrey told Veronica.

"Oh, you're in for sure. Don't worry about it, there's pretty much only one person who wouldn't want you on the team, and that's Kristy. She kind of hates you because she caught Luke checking you out. But don't worry, I can handle her," Caroline said confidently.

"Okay girls, why don't you keep that talk for school," Veronica said quickly. Veronica knew that teenage girls gossiped and talked about silly things from time to time, including her own daughter, but the less she heard of it the better.

Aubrey tended to be a little more level headed than Caroline, but when they were together Veronica had heard them talk some absolute nonsense. Most of it was amusing, and caused Veronica no concern, she knew they'd grow out of it. Caroline tended to influence Aubrey towards things materialistic and frivolous things. She was more like Dick in personality than Mac, and Dick had rather spoilt her, she was his princess. In saying that Caroline wasn't all bad, in fact she was a very nice girl most of the time, just a little superficial from time to time.

"Okay Mom, we'll just go upstairs and get changed," Aubrey said quickly, eager to comply with her mother's wishes.

"Oh good, while you're up there can you tell Violet that she need to come downstairs and help set the table. That goes for you too Aubrey, and Caroline you can help too," Veronica told Aubrey and Caroline.

"Sure Mom, come on Care," Aubrey said, and the two girls went upstairs.

Veronica decided to go out and sit on the deck and have a few quiet minutes to herself before the masses descended. Her mind had been in overdrive for most of the day and it would end up crashing if she didn't slow down for a short time.

The fifteen minutes Veronica had staring out at the ocean did the trick. When the doorbell rang she was ready for their usual biweekly evening of fun and eating.

Veronica walked quickly through the house to open the door for the Fennels.

"Wallace! Hi Amanda, you guys are the first ones here," Veronica greeted them

"Hey Superfly," Wallace returned cheerfully.

Veronica then addressed the kids and said, "Jas, Dakota, I think Violet should be in setting the table with Aubrey and Caroline. Tyler, the boys are in their rooms, and Justin, feel free to go play whatever video game it is you kids like."

The kids all disappeared and then Veronica said to Amanda and Wallace, "Come on, let's go sit out the back, it's really nice out there now. Wait, you guys go on without me, Lily and Liam just arrived."

Veronica went down the steps and across the road to meet Lily, Liam and their little ones.

"Aunt Ronica!" Lily sang out cheerfully. "Do you want to get Maegan out of her car seat?"

Veronica opened the back door to reveal a cooing Maegan. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you out of that seat and inside for cuddles," Veronica said lovingly, getting the little girl out and securing her in her arms.

"Hey Veronica," Liam said, as he walked over, holding Dylan's hand.

"Hi Liam, and look at you Dylan, I think you're even bigger since I last saw you," Veronica told him seriously.

"I growed, so I'm going to school," Dylan announced importantly.

Veronica looked questioningly at Lily.

"Lots to talk about," Lily said briefly. "When we get inside."

"Sure," Veronica said with a nod.

They walked across the road, and back into the house.

"I'll go haul Logan out of his office," Veronica said. "The others are out the back."

Veronica walked off, still carrying Maegan, and Lily, Liam and Dylan headed out towards the deck.

"Logan, look who's here," Veronica said, standing in the doorway to his office.

"Maegan! You're such a cute little thing, your Daddy is going to have fun when you get older," Logan said gleefully, taking Maegan from Veronica's arms.

"Her daddy, Lily, Wallace and Amanda are all out back," Veronica said. "You about ready to make an appearance?"

"Sure, Meggie and I will just go fetch some beers and we'll meet you out there," Logan said, heading towards the kitchen.

"Nope, I'm going to go and answer the doorbell, again," Veronica replied, reacting to the ringing coming from the front of the house.

At the front door waited the Kane and Casablancas families.

"Come on in," Veronica said. "Adults are out back, the kids are in various bedrooms and playrooms. As usual, make yourselves at home!"

Honey, Carter, Aurora and James dispersed into various sections of the house and Veronica, Mac, Dick, Duncan and Eva walked towards the back of the kitchen.

"Oh Veronica, I brought chocolate cake," Eva said, remembering.

"And I have my cottage cheese and walnut fritters," Mac added.

"Right, we'll go leave them with Rosita in 'her' kitchen then," Veronica said.

The three women headed towards the familiar kitchen and left their dishes with the ever capable Rosita.

Outside the found that Duncan and Logan were busy fussing over Maegan, she was a very popular person at 'family' gatherings. Liam and Wallace were passing a ball gently around with Dylan. At four Dylan was already showing very good ball skills and hand-eye coordination, which he clearly had inherited from his father.

Veronica smiled at the picture Liam made, playing with his son. There had been a time when Veronica was a little dubious about Lily's relationship with Liam, thought she'd never said as much to Lily. But Liam had proved himself time and time again to be a good man, and was now a wonderful father.

Looking at Dylan Veronica remembered that Lily said she had lots to talk about.

"_I have lots to talk about too_," Veronica thought wryly. "_But I can't, so listening to whatever Lily has to say will do just as well_."

Veronica sat down next to Lily and said, "So, you said you had things to tell me?"

"Oh, yes!" Lily exclaimed. "Dylan wasn't exactly right, what he meant was that he is going to go to preschool."

"Really?" Veronica asked interestedly.

"Which one?" Amanda queried, joining their conversation.

"Well, we've had a look around, and we think Harper Preschool looks the best," Lily replied. "We actually only decided last night that we're going to send him to preschool, so nothing is finalised yet."

"Why?" Veronica asked.

"Well, Liam and I decided that I should go back to work two days a week, and of course Daddy is fine with that too," Lily answered. "I've just been so restless around the house, and I miss my work. It'll be good for Dylan to go to preschool too, after all he will start at Neptune Elementary next year."

"That sounds it'll be really good for you, and for Dylan," Veronica remarked. Over the summer she'd sensed that something was off with Lily, and this must've been it.

"What are you going to do with Maegan?" Amanda asked.

"We haven't decided yet," Lily replied. "I mean, ideally, it would be nice to leave her with grandparents, but because things are the way they are, Daddy and Eva are busy in their own lives, and Liam's parents aren't really babysitting material."

"Neither are Jake or Celeste," Veronica said dryly.

"No," Lily agreed with a smile. "And I'm not keen on the idea of a somewhat permanent nanny. I'm fine with babysitters from time to time, but just not a nanny. Liam's more open to the idea of a nanny though."

"You should think about seeing if Keith and Alicia would be happy to mind her for one of the days you're working," Amanda suggested. "They'll be back from their cruise next week, and they're both retired now, so you should think about it."

"I'm sure they'd love having her Lil," Veronica agreed. "And I hereby volunteer Logan to do the other day. He can choose when he goes to L.A. for work, so he'll work around Maegan. I mean look at him, he adores he. He'll love having her."

"You're sure?" Lily asked brightly. "I had thought about asking you and Uncle Logan, but I know you're busy with your own lives too."

"I'm sure, and the kids will love her being here when they get home from school," Veronica said confidently.

"Wow, so I'm pretty much good to go back to work. All I have to do is iron out the finer details," Lily said, slowly, slightly awed.

"Life sometimes has a way of providing the answers we need," Veronica said, hoping that it would do the same for her.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks everyone for your reviews! (Nichole, I hate having V lie to L, but it can't be helped at the moment.) (Ali-cat, thanks! I'm trying to be balanced, at case details, while still following along with their normal lives.) (Angel, I'm trying to make sure I include things like family dinners, I'm trying to include at least a little bit on everyone every now and again.)**

**Chapter 6**

"Dude, do you remember that time you hooked up with Amanda Seyfried, at that New Year's party?" Dick asked Logan.

"Daddy!" Aubrey exclaimed, shocked.

Logan glared at Dick and took away the beer he was drinking. "I was young and stupid, and it was before your mother and I were together."

"Yeah, I'm good not knowing about that era of your life Dad," Aubrey said, hurrying back inside.

She and Caroline had ventured out to the deck to sit with the adults before dinner, but Dick's tipsy reminiscing sent them both inside.

"Dick, you dick," Logan said. "What have I told you about keeping storytelling for 'adults only' get togethers?"

"Sorry dude," Dick said, looking hopefully at his confiscated beer. "Can I have that back now?"

"No, you cannot," Logan said decisively.

"Is Richard being a naughty boy?" Mac asked, walking over to her husband.

Dick sent Logan his best, 'Help, save me' look and Logan chuckled.

"No, he's just working hard to freak our daughters out. Just the usual," Logan said cheerfully.

Mac looked calculatingly at Dick, and Dick quickly looked around, and settled his gaze on Veronica.

"Ronnie!" Dick exclaimed. "Is it time for dinner yet?"

Veronica stopped her conversation with Lily and Duncan, and looked at Dick.

"Why? Are you hungry?" Veronica asked impishly.

"Yes, very hungry," Dick said enthusiastically.

"Okay, we might as well go in for dinner now," Veronica allowed.

Dick jumped up, eager to leave the awkward situation he had created with Logan and Mac.

"Dick, you can you and tell the kids we're going to eat now," Veronica added with a grin.

Dick nodded and headed inside.

He found Justin and James using the TV in the living room to play videos games.

"Guys, dinner's up," Dick announced, before heading off to the dedicated games room.

There he found Carter, Ollie, Tyler and Tom engaged in a rowdy racing car video game.

"Dudes, Aunt Ronnie says it's time for dinner," Dick told them.

This resulted in them stopping their game almost immediately and they stampeded towards the dining room.

Then Dick stopped in Oliver's room where Jasmine, Aurora and Honey were watching a movie together.

"Girls, dinner time," Dick said.

He watched them get up, then go to the stairs in an orderly fashion, which was quite a contrast to the boys, and amused Dick thoroughly.

Then Dick continued down the hall and paused outside Violet's room. Dick was being very thorough in rounding up the children, which wasn't his usual style. Normally he would just have walked inside and yelled, "Kids, food time!", and that would've been that. However he was rather eager to stay out of Veronica and Mac's bad books, due to their interaction out on the deck before.

"Vi, Dakota, dinner," Dick said quickly. Despite his wishes to stay out of trouble, he was starting to feel like a butler and he didn't like it.

Dick then ducked across the hall and said, "Aubrey, Princess Caroline, it's dinner time."

"Thanks Daddy," Caroline said winsomely. Then she turned back to Aubrey and whispered something to her, which they both giggled wildly at.

Dick turned and left then, having no longing to stay and learn more about the mind of the teenage girl.

He walked back downstairs and into the dining room where everyone but Aubrey and Caroline were finishing seating themselves around the enormous table. Rosita and Logan had put in a leaf that extended the table to fit all twenty four of them, Maegan still sat in her high chair, so she didn't need to at the table.

"Nice job honey," Mac said sweetly. "I didn't hear you shout once."

Dick grinned and said, "I try."

Mac shook her head and laughed. Dick's antics tended to cause infectious laughter.

Once they were all seated around the table and the food had been served Caroline said, "So, who's seen Aunt Madison's new nose?"

There was a collective shout of laughter from the people around the table. Madison may have been family, of sorts, but she still was not a favourite with anyone.

"Caroline, don't make fun of your aunt," Mac lightly reprimanded, after she'd swallowed her involuntary laughter.

"But Mom, it's so dodgy," Aurora agreed.

"She really should go to a different surgeon," Violet suggested.

"Enough about Madison!" Logan declared. "Mac's right, don't make fun of her. Madison deserved our sympathy."

"Logan!" Veronica exclaimed. She'd been pleased with Logan at first, but his last remark just encouraged the girls. Naturally, there was still no love lost between Veronica and Madison, but Veronica preferred that her children didn't waste time making fun of her.

"Sorry Ronnie," Logan said penitently. "So, who didn't survive the first two days back at school?"

The rest of the evening went well, and was filled with the usual merriment.

Friday morning went by without mishap, the kids made it to school and Veronica went into the office, where she spent a decent portion of her morning at work trying to formulate a plan to involve Brandon Keating in their social circle. She and Logan had very little to do with him, and by choice. The Kanes had more to do with him, seeing as he lived very close by them. They still tried to keep him at arm's length for the most part, but it was difficult at times as he was fairly persistent in hanging around. This was mainly due to Lily.

When Brandon had moved to Neptune at the end of Lily's senior year he had been very keen on her and had pursued her rather enthusiastically. By the end of the summer Liam had had more than enough, and had some rather firm words with him.

**Flashback**

Towards the end of summer, Lily had Liam had gone out to the beach to spend the afternoon together, and had been there barely ten minutes before Brandon appeared on the beach.

Lily was lying next to Liam, wearing a green and white bandeau bikini, and inwardly groaned when Brandon said, "Hey hot stuff."

Liam glared darkly at Brandon who seemed oblivious, or perhaps so in love with himself that he didn't care. If he hadn't been such a pain in the ass Lily would've laughed at the irony of the situation. Brandon acted like the old Liam, and Liam was in Scott's position. However Lily knew that there was no chance she'd up falling for him, there was no spark, even of anger, only indifference.

"Hi Brandon," Lily said with disinterest.

"Got any plans for tonight?" Brandon asked, not acknowledging Liam's presence.

"Yeah, she's going out with me, her boyfriend," Liam said firmly.

"Or you could come out with me," Brandon pressed flirtatiously.

"Or not Brandon," Lily replied. "I'm not interested in dating you."

"Well, you're missing out," Brandon said cockily.

"All right, that's it, I've had enough!" Liam exclaimed, getting hastily up off the sand.

Brandon looked a little amused, and a little shocked.

"Stand the fuck up," Liam ordered.

Lily looked slightly worried, but resigned.

Brandon continued to stay sitting.

"You've been hitting on Lily, my girlfriend, all summer, and I haven't done anything to you. Lily didn't want me to, said you weren't worth our time, but I've had enough. Any other guy would've punched you weeks ago," Liam ranted.

Brandon stood up warily and faced Liam.

"She's not your property, so I can flirt with her if I want. Do you really think you can actually fight me?" Brandon scoffed.

Brandon was well built, thanks to hours in the gym for his role on _General Practice_. Liam was also in very good shape, thanks to years of football and baseball. The contest would be a fairly even one.

Liam looked at Lily and sighed.

"She's not my property, but she is my girlfriend, and you're not respecting her or that fact, so I should hit you. But I'm not going to. If you don't back off after this, I will hit you," Liam warned. "Now how about you get lost?"

Brandon looked almost sullen, shrugged and said, "Fine. See you guys around."

Liam sank back down on the sand next to Lily who smiled at him.

"That was kind of hot you know," she said in a sultry voice.

Liam just grinned at her, then kissed her.

**End flashback**

Brandon had backed off, but in saying that, he was still rather keen on Lily. He was overfriendly, and continued to hit on her from time to time. Even after Lily and Liam had been married Brandon still seemed to have more than a friendly interest in her.

Yes, Lily would be a good start in trying to begin some sort of a 'friendship' with Brandon. In fact, there might even be time to put the beginning of her plan into action before the day was out. When Veronica had a plan formed, even the beginning of one, she liked to get started on it as soon as possible, and she was particularly eager to get moving on this particular case.

Veronica reached for her phone and dialled Lily's mobile number.

"Hi Lily," Veronica greeted her.

"Oh hi Aunt Ronica. Slow day at the office?" Lily asked.

"Oh, about normal. It's actually almost lunch, and I wanted to know if you felt like a visit?" Veronica suggested.

"I'd love it!" Lily exclaimed.

"Okay, well I thought I'd come over, and we could eat something and take the kids for a walk," Veronica replied.

"Sounds great. What do you want to eat?" Lily asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'll stop on the way and pick us up a couple of sandwiches," Veronica said. "I'll see you in about half an hour."

Veronica hung up the phone, then pulled up her file on Brandon Keating. All of her files were heavily password protected, but the one on Brandon Keating was even more high protected than her other files. Casper had seen to that, so that it would be near to impossible for anyone, but Veronica, to access the file. It was highly doubtful that Mac would even be able to break the encryption.

Veronica then looked at the beginning of the file.

**Brandon Keating**

Name: Brandon William Keating

D.O.B: 23 June 1997

Birthplace: Sun Valley, CA

Parents: Susan and John Keating

High School: Fairfax High

Occupation: Actor

Current Residence: 4311 Seashore Drive, Neptune, CA

Relationship Status: Single

The basic details about Brandon didn't really reveal too much about him for Veronica, but the further notes where more useful. Even more useful than that was Veronica's previous interaction with him, which had given her real insight as to his personality. Veronica had been a skilful profiler when she was in the FBI, and though skills had helped her solve more than a couple of difficult cases. Veronica knew that Brandon liked important people, with important positions. He liked attractive women, blondes in particular, according to the tabloids (and his pursuit of Lily). In short, that told Veronica that flattery and attention would be a big key in gaining Brandon's trust, and developing a friendship.

Veronica choked on a snort of laughter at the idea of having a friendship with Brandon Keating. He was the actor, but she would be the one performing, and it would have to be one hell of a brilliant and long performance if she wanted him, and those around her to belief that she had anything but polite indifference to mild disdain for him, as she has use to. Now of course she completely loathed him, as she did anyone who participated in terrorism, and especially when it was in relation to racism and white supremacy.

Veronica finished with her laptop, secured it, then grabbed her cell phone, purse and jacket.

"I'll see you next Thursday, Lucy. Have a lovely weekend," Veronica said cheerfully. Lucy only worked a half day on a Friday, and Veronica would be in L.A. all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the next week.

Veronica stopped briefly at a café on the main street of Neptune to pick up a couple of gourmet sandwiches, then continued on to the Armistead home.

When it came time for Lily and Liam to choose a house in Neptune Lily couldn't imagine living anywhere but on the beachfront, right near her father and the Echolls. Lily lived within a five minute walk of her father's house, which meant it was only about another minute further to Brandon Keating's house.

Veronica wasn't sure whether or not Brandon was at home, but a walk along the beach with Lily would be almost sure to lure him out if he was. Even the attachments of Maegan and Dylan would not discourage Brandon from looking to spend time with Lily, for he still seemed rather keen on her and was still overly friendly.

Veronica parked out the front of the Armistead's house, gathered her things, and made for the front door.

She rung the doorbell and waited. She heard a pattering of feet, then the door was opened by Lily, and Dylan rushed out of it.

"Aunt Ronica!" Dylan cried.

There had been much debate over what Lily's children would call Veronica and Logan. Veronica was a mother figure and honorary to Lily, so the only real options for names for her to be called by Maegan and Dylan were some version of grandma and of course, Aunt Veronica. Veronica and Lily had both agreed that 'Grandma' wasn't quite right, so Aunt Veronica it was. The Ronica part was all Dylan, not because it was Lily's pet name, but because he had trouble saying Veronica in full.

"Hi Dylan," Veronica said, stooping and kissing the top of his head.

"No kisses, I'm a big boy," Dylan protested.

"You are a big boy," Veronica agreed with a laugh. "But big boys still get kisses, in fact, big boys like kisses. Doesn't Mommy kiss Daddy?"

"Yes, but that's 'cause they're Mommy and Daddy," Dylan said matter-of-factly.

Veronica and Lily both laughed together.

"Hi Aunt Ronica," Lily said. "Nice of my son to let me get a word in. I guess it's my fault though, Daddy says I was quite the chatterbox."

"Was?" Veronica questioned teasingly. "Where's Maegan?"

"In her playpen," Lily answered. "Come on, let's eat lunch while she's still happy playing."

They ate their lunch out on the back deck, then when they were finished Veronica said, "So, how about we take the kids for a walk? I could use a walk along the beach."

"Sure," Lily agreed easily. "I'll just put them both in something suitable. Speaking of suitable, do you want something else to wear? I don't know how comfy you'll be, walking along the beach in your suit, and it's such a nice suit."

Veronica looked down at her grey pant suit and shrugged, "This'll be fine. I'll just leave my shoes here."

"I should say so," Lily agreed with a giggle. "I mean, who walks on the beach with shoes on?"

Lily and Veronica collected the kids and put them both in a pair of play shorts and t-shirt.

They walked out onto the beach, and Veronica headed them towards the Kane's, and Brandon's, house.

Dylan ran on ahead, doubling back to shout things at them, and Veronica and Lily walked along, each holding one of Maegan's hands.

"Did you speak to Uncle Logan about him minding Maegan yet?" Veronica asked.

"No, but I will, after I've spoken to Grandpa Mars and Grandma Alicia, oh, and after we've actually enrolled Dylan in preschool," Lily replied.

"I'm really happy you and Liam have decided for you to go back to work part-time. I know you loved your job, and you were good at it. It will be good for you to get out of the house for a bit," Veronica said.

"I know! That's exactly how I felt. I love my babies, but preschool will be good for Dylan, and work will be good for me," Lily replied.

They were almost level with the Kane's house and Lily picked Maegan up and said, "Look, there's Grandpa and Grandma Eva's house, baby. They're not home now, but we can still wave."

Maegan and Lily both waved and Dylan ran up and asked, "Are we going to see Grandpa and Gra'ma?"

"Not now Dylan, maybe tomorrow," Lily said. "They're not there now."

"Who lives over there?" Dylan asked, pointing a chubby finger in the direction of Brandon's house.

Veronica inwardly thanked the unsuspecting little boy. She mentally made a note to buy him a new toy, and one with wonderful buttons and gadgets at that.

Lily looked wryly at Veronica, who gave her a pained grin, then answered her son.

"A man names Brandon Keating lives there," Lily answered.

"Are you his friend?" Dylan asked innocently.

"Well, we've met before," Lily answered awkwardly.

"Can I meet 'im?" Dylan asked.

A look, that could almost be termed panic, crossed Lily's face, then she said, "Oh, not now dear. I don't think he's home."

"Yes he is Mommy!" Dylan exclaimed, pointing at the man walking out the back of Brandon's house.

"Oh, I don't think that's him," Lily said hurriedly.

"Oh, but I think it is," Veronica said with amusement. "And I think he's coming over to see us."

"Great," Lily said with a huff.

"Great!" Dylan echoed with excitement.

Lily set Maegan back down on the sand and looked at Veronica and said, "Poor, unsuspecting child."

"Oh well, maybe Dylan will monopolize his attention and we'll be saved," Veronica suggested. "Anyway, maybe we should give him another chance. He might just be lonely and desperate for company."

"I don't think so Aunt Ronica. What's got in to you?" Lily asked, astonished. She knew Veronica was not keen on Hollywood types like Brandon.

Veronica thought quickly, and happened upon the perfect cover.

"You're right," Veronica admitted with a chuckle. "It's for my own purposes that I think we should be nice to him."

That wasn't a lie at least.

"Why?" Lily asked curiously, her voice low as Brandon drew closer.

"Two words," Veronica replied. "Madison Sinclair."

"Madison Sinclair?" Lily practically shouted in shock.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks Angel and Ali-cat for your reviews! I really appreciate them (and therefore you!)**

**Chapter 7**

"Who's Madison Sinclair?" Brandon asked, having overheard Lily's exclamation. Anyone within a three mile radius had probably heard her.

"A friend of ours," Veronica answered pleasantly. "You see, I'm having a dinner party in a couple of weeks, and her date bailed on her."

Veronica was making up everything on the fly, her brain spinning a million miles an hour to make her plan work. If it did work she'd have found a way to unobtrusively include Brandon in a few of their social things, all the while making it look like she was essentially pranking Madison Sinclair. It was actually quite brilliant.

Lily of course thought Veronica was merely trying to be mean to Madison Sinclair, and she frankly thought Brandon and Madison would be perfect for one another, so she decided to play along with whatever Veronica was angling at. Though the idea of Veronica making up a dinner party merely to prank Madison Sinclair seemed a little extreme.

"Yes, Madison is single you see, and the odd one out," Lily continued.

"This mightn't suit you, but do you think you'd mind being her date?" Veronica suggested to Brandon slowly. "It doesn't have to be a date or anything, just another person to balance numbers out."

"I think you'd like Madison too," Lily continued mischievously. "She's a little older than you, but you wouldn't know it to look at her, and she's young for her age."

Veronica barely refrained from laughing at this, Madison was more immature rather than young for her age. And parts of her certainly weren't fifty, but it would be generous to say that Madison had aged well. Madison was still quite a pathetic figure, truth be told. She'd been married twice, divorced twice, had had no children, was still a massive snob and, frankly, a bitch. She'd tried modelling and acting, and had failed at both. Her two marriages had provided her with sizable divorce settlements that kept her in Prada and Chanel, so she lacked for nothing material. She did lack a live with love, but that was her own fault. Mac and Veronica were friendly to her when occasion called for it, but Madison she hated Veronica intensely. She had more a tolerance for Mac, but that was more a matter of practicality, their family situation made it necessary.

However, the picture that Lily had painted seemed to suit Brandon, for he said, "Sure. I'd be happy to, especially if it would help you two out."

Veronica grinned, pleased with herself. It appeared that Lily was indeed a very useful asset when it came to operation 'Get closer to Brandon Keating'.

"Mommy, is this Keatin'?" Dylan asked.

"Yes, dear, this is Mr Keating," Lily answered.

Brandon bent down to speak to Dylan. "Hi, you can call me Brandon. What's your name?"

"I'm Dylan," that young man said importantly.

"Nice to meet you," Brandon said kindly, eager to be nice to Lily's son.

"Are you gonna come visit?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know, as your mommy," Brandon replied, smiling flirtatiously at Lily.

Lily inwardly groaned, and Veronica cringed. Naturally, Brandon couldn't get through a conversation with Lily without hitting on her.

"Probably not sweetie, Brandon is a very busy man," Lily answered evasively.

Brandon looked a little crestfallen, but Dylan looked unperturbed. He had plenty of people to visit him, so his new acquaintance was no real loss.

"I'm actually not that busy at the moment," Brandon remarked. "I don't actually have any roles at the moment, I'm taking a bit of a break. Ten years on _General Hospital_ was kind of a lot."

"So, you'll be sticking around here for a while?" Veronica asked, apparently conversationally.

"Yeah, apart from the odd business trip, I have, ah, investments," Brandon said.

Veronica had been keenly observing everything Brandon said, and every move he made, and she certainly noticed the odd way in which he referred to his investments. She was sure he was referring to his involvement with the white supremacists, if she was wrong, she'd not eat Italian for a whole year.

"Momma, water!" Maegan said, interrupting the adults conversation.

"This must be your daughter," Brandon said, alerted to her presence by her talking. "I haven't seen her since she was a tiny baby."

"I guess so," Lily replied vaguely. "No sweetie, no water now. I think Aunt Veronica needs to get back to work soon anyway."

"Oh yes, I should," Veronica agreed. She'd laid good groundwork with Brandon, and things had almost reached an awkward and boring stage in their conversation.

"Goodbye Brandon," Lily said politely.

"See you ladies around," Brandon replied.

"Oh!" Veronica exclaimed, pretending to have forgotten. "The dinner party is on October 2nd, it's for Liam's birthday."

That little detail had been a particularly devious touch on Veronica's part, and a sort of gift to Lily for unsuspectingly playing along with her scheme so well.

Brandon grimaced a little, but said, "I'll make sure it's added to my calendar."

Brandon by no means liked Liam, he'd married Lily after all, but Brandon had promised to go, and Lily had been practically nice to him.

"Bye Brandon," Veronica said, and she, Lily, Maegan and Dylan retraced their steps back along the beach.

"Aunt Ronica, you're awful," Lily said with a giggle, when they were a safe distance away. "Inventing a dinner party just to play a prank on Madison!"

Veronica grinned, pleased at Lily's interpretation of her actions.

"The idea just came to me, it was too irresistible. Now the only the to do is to make Madison think she's doing us a favour by coming," Veronica replied.

"Oh, she'll come. Sure, she doesn't really like Uncle Dick and Aunt Mac, but she has to tolerate them, they're family. But she still things Uncle Logan is just wonderful, if he's there, she'll go," Lily remarked.

"Exactly, she's still a shallow social climber, which is why I'm sure she'll be happy to keep Brandon company. After all, he's younger, and a Hollywood hottie," Veronica agreed. Naturally she'd already thought those things through before she mobilised her plan.

"Hollywood hottie?" Lily queried in amusement.

"I do not think he is a hottie, I'm just trying to use a term that Madison would use," Veronica retorted.

"Oh, I wish I could watch you carefully and flawlessly convince Madison to come to the dinner party," Lily said gleefully.

"Oh, you will see, you're coming with me," Veronica said decidedly. "After all, it's a dinner party for your husband. You'll need to tell Madison how you had to invite Brandon, how he's been lonely, and how he doesn't have a date, and you thought of her."

"You're actually an evil genius, disguised as a private investigator," Lily said, shaking her head in amusement. "Aunt Mac is going to kill you for planning this."

"But you all love me," Veronica said confidently.

"Well of course," Lily agreed, and they continued to walk back towards the Armistead home.

Once inside Veronica put her shoes back on, collected her things, then returned to her office.

She made a few quick notes on her file on Brandon, then she shook her head, wondering what the hell she'd got herself into. She had a feeling Logan, and Mac wouldn't be thrilled about the idea of a dinner party with Brandon and Madison. A dinner party that was apparently only created by Veronica just for her own amusement. She couldn't decide which they'd by madder about if they knew the truth, that she was working at the FBI again.

Well, she'd made her commitment, and she wasn't backing out. She needed to help solve the case, and stop the acts of terrorism against African Americans. She would just have to manage Mac, Logan, her family, her job, the Keating case, and now Madison's addition to it, and not blow her cover.

"I'm an idiot," Veronica said aloud, with a rueful chuckle.

When it reached late afternoon Veronica locked up her office, and went home for the usual evening routine.

As they all sat around the dinner table, eating and talking about their days, Veronica said casually, "Oh Logan, Lily and I have decided we're going to have a birthday dinner for Liam in early October, probably the 2nd, so don't plan anything for then."

"Please tell me it'll only be small," Logan requested.

"Oh yes, just the usuals, and a few extras," Veronica replied cheerfully. "It'll really just be dinner, not a party."

"Are we invited Mom?" Violet asked.

"No, I don't think so. I think you'll probably all go to Aunt Mac's house while the adults are here," Veronica replied.

"Cool," Violet said, and continued eating her meal.

"So, we're going to be missing you several afternoons a week for the next few months?" Logan asked Aubrey.

Aubrey of course had made the junior cheerleading team.

"Yeah, we train Monday and Wednesday, and we cheer at most of the B grade team games, because we're only the junior team," Aubrey answered.

"So, does that mean we'll be sitting through another season of high school football games?" Logan asked.

Veronica looked reproachfully at Logan and said to Aubrey, "We'll be at as many games as we can make it to."

"Thanks Mom, as long as you make the first one, I don't really mind," Aubrey replied.

"What are we doing tomorrow Mom?" Oliver asked, bored with the current conversation.

"I thought we'd go to the Angels game, it's a home one," Logan answered instead.

Logan had started following the L.A. Angels many years ago, and he had taught the kids to follow them as well. Eventually Veronica stopped supporting the Neptune Sharks, as she and her father had, and supported the Angels as well. Keith of course still supported the Sharks, and vowed that he would until his dying day. Things were naturally fairly interesting when the Sharks played the Angels.

"You're not Mom, Daddy," Tom protested, focused on that unimportant aspect of the conversation.

"No, he's not," Veronica agreed. "But my answer is the same, we're going to the Angels game."

"Awesome! Who are we playing?" Ollie asked.

"Texas," Logan answered. "Should be a good game."

"Oh kids," Veronica said abruptly. "I forgot to tell you, but I'll be in L.A. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week, but I'll be home every night for dinner. I've just got some conference thing to go to."

They all nodded in acceptance, they were use to Veronica having to go to L.A. for one thing or another.

As they were coming towards the end of dinner, Violet looked impishly at Aubrey, then at her father, and then, with Logan's mischievous grin on her face she said, "So Aubrey, have any boys asked you out yet?"

Logan actually started choking on the piece of steak he was chewing. Aubrey looked terribly alarmed, Veronica looked amused and the boys looked largely disinterested. They were actually more focused on the fact that their father seemed to be choking to death in front of them.

Eventually Logan stopped choking and said to Aubrey, "What does she mean?"

"Nothing Daddy, she's just being stupid," Aubrey said firmly, glaring at her sister.

"No I'm not, I mean, it's obvious Daddy. She's in high school, she's a cheerleader, and boys think she's hot," Violet said blithely.

Logan looked like he was about to implode so Veronica said, "Okay, I think dinner's over now. You can all take your things to the kitchen, then you can all go do what you want. Except you Violet, I'll see you in your room in a minute."

The kids all hurriedly left the table, and Veronica rose and walked over to the other side, where Logan still sat.

"Logan, she was just giving you a hard time, she's know how easy it is, she's your daughter after all," Veronica said gently. "And on that note, it's probably a good time to remind you what I said about getting use to the idea of Aubrey dating, okay? It's going to happen, so just try getting it into your mind."

"But I don't want to," Logan said petulantly.

"Well you'll have to, or I might start wearing granny nightgowns to bed," Veronica threatened.

"Okay," Logan said sadly, clearly defeated.

Veronica took pity on his crestfallen features.

"Look, why don't you talk to my dad about it? I mean, there might be a small weird factor, because you're married to me, his only daughter, but I think you're both old enough to be mature about it. I'm sure he might have some tips to surviving the teenage years with a daughter," Veronica suggested gently.

"I guess I might," Logan said slowly. "I mean, it's not like there's anyone else to ask, except DK, and we don't really talk about that stuff."

They both were silent for a moment after that, each reflecting on the collection of poor male role models in Logan's life.

"You could ask Duncan, he did well with Lily," Veronica said reflectively. "Smaller weird factor too. It might be good for you two to broaden your horizons."

"We'll see," Logan said, pushing out his chair and standing up.

"Well, I have one naughty daughter to go and speak to," Veronica said. "Why don't you go play a video game with the boys, or throw a ball around, I know they'd enjoy it."

"Okay Sugarpus," Logan agreed. "How about a date tonight when the kids are settled?"

The type of date Logan was referring to was curling up in the bed together, watching a movie and, in all likelihood, eating ice cream.

"Sure, you pick the movie, I'll pick the snacks," Veronica said over her should as she walked out of the room.

Veronica walked up the stairs and into her second daughter's room.

Violet was sitting on her bed, reading a book. Apart from sharing Logan's love of mischief and trouble making, Violet also loved to read.

"Vi," Veronica said in a gentle voice, and sat down on the bed next to her. "That wasn't nice, and you know it."

"Oh, I know, but he's just so easy to tease Mom," Violet protested weakly. "I mean, if he wasn't so uptight about the idea of us one day dating, then it wouldn't be an issue. It's his own fault really."

Veronica knew exactly what her daughter meant, but for the sake of discipline, she couldn't agree with her exactly.

"We both know your father has a hard time with the thought that you will one day date, and he's going to have to come to terms with it, but you shouldn't have done what you did. It was mean and just for your own amusement. It also wasn't fair to draw Aubrey into it," Veronica said firmly. "You should make things right with your sister, then I want you to apologise to your father."

"Yes Mom," Violet said in a resigned tone.

"Good girl. After you have, why don't we have a game of Clue?" Veronica suggested.

"But you'll just win Mom," Violet said with a giggle.

"Yes, but it'll be fun!" Veronica said cheerfully.

"I'll set it up while you do what I've told you. Tell Aubrey she's playing as well!" Veronica said as she walked out of Violet's bedroom.

Violet left her room as well, and went across the hall to Aubrey's room.

"Auby," Violet said, using an old pet name. "I'm sorry I dragged you into my teasing of Daddy."

"Oh never mind, Vi. At least Mom stepped in before anything actually happened," Aubrey said easily.

"Great. Mom says come and play Clue with us," Violet informed her.

"Oh yay. Bet you she wins every game," Aubrey said wryly.

"Daddy taught me never to bet against sure things," Violet said cheekily. "Speaking of Daddy, I better go and find him."

Violet slipped down the stairs and followed the sounds of her brothers and father exuberantly playing a video game.

She stood somewhat timidly next to the couch Logan was sitting on, then said quietly, "Can I talk to you for a minute Daddy?"

Logan put his controller down and said, "Boys, you keep playing, I'll be back in a minute."

Violet and Logan stepped out into the hall and Logan said, "What is it Violet?"

"Daddy, I'm sorry for teasing you like that. I shouldn't have done it, and I'm sorry for upsetting you," Violet said sincerely, looking straight at her father, with her mother's blue eyes.

"Never mind sweetheart, I know you didn't mean anything by it," Logan said calmly, giving Violet a quick hug.

"Thanks Daddy," Violet said, then scampered off in relief.

She found Veronica and Aubrey set up with the Clue board on the dining table.

"Ready to play?" Veronica asked cheerfully.

Aubrey and Violet threw each other dubious looks. They knew very well how their night was going to turn out.

**AN: Thanks for reading! I usually update every second day, these days. However, now, I'm going to try a new thing :) I'll update once I've got 5 reviews the next chapter! So please review, because I really like them, and I'd really like to know what you think of the storyline, so I know if you guys are bored, or enjoying it :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: I got my 5 reviews, so thank you all! Here is your update :)**

**(Angel - Thanks! More family time to come :) And definitely more Madison, and trust me, I hate her, so there will be no redemption for her.) (Nichole - There will be some dating drama/interaction coming up in Chapter 11!) ****(Tarnya - thanks so much for reviewing! It was a great first review :) I get what you mean about Veronica supporting the Sharks, but I guess maybe she didn't want to support anything that Woodie had been a part of, keeping in with leaving the past behind.)**

**Chapter 8**

"Awesome game," Dick said, as he Logan, and all their kids walked into the Echolls house.

"Best last inning I've seen in ages," Logan agreed. "Oh girls, could you go and wait for Uncle Dick and me in the dining room? Boys, you can go and play."

"That includes you too, Caroline and Aurora," Dick said, waving them along. "James, just keep an eye on the boys."

The four girls wandered off, looking miserable and amused, but mainly miserable. It was clear that they were about to get another 'talk'. Most kids got the 'sex' talk, they got the 'All teenage boys are evil' biannual lecture. The older they got, the more detailed it became, and the more earnest their fathers seemed.

In contrast to their daughters, Logan and Dick looked quite gleeful about their upcoming talk. It gave them immense satisfaction to impress the importance of not dating. Logan was feeling a little less enthusiastic about the talk than normal, Veronica's threats and lectures had made quite an impression on him. Not enough to stop him giving the talk, but he figured he might change a few of his usual rules and messages. He had no particular desire to see Veronica in a 'granny nightgown' as she'd termed it.

Aubrey, Violet, Caroline and Aurora were sitting glumly around the dining table. Aurora looked a little less glum, as at age eleven, she'd experienced less of the talks than the others, so the prospect was less woeful to her.

"Well girls, school's gone back, so we just thought we should have a chat, reinforcing our rules about boys," Dick began seriously.

"And of course, our helpful insight as to why teenage boys are all evil," Logan added.

"Because they only want one thing," Dick continued ominously.

Caroline looked somewhere between bored and uncomfortable, while Aurora merely looked uncomfortable. Aubrey had pasted a carefully practiced blank look on her face, while Violet actually looked somewhat amused.

"Sex," Logan said with a shudder. "We know you know about it, and we'd rather you didn't, but you do. Even though you know about it, we sincerely hope you will not participate in it for many, many years. And when I say hope, I mean, you won't."

"Because we'll know, we have very good instincts for stuff like that," Dick said. "We'll know, so don't do it, and I mean _it_. It will just get awkward for everyone, we won't be able to look you in the eyes for months, we'll have to kill the guy responsible for taking your innocence, and then we'll end up in jail. Oh, sorry man, that was stupid of me."

Dick had just realised how insensitive his remark was, seeing as Logan's father had been a murderer, and even joking that Logan could end up like Aaron was not a good idea.

Logan just waved away Dick's apology, he was too focused on the task at hand.

"Girls, I know you've heard all this before," Logan began, but then Caroline interrupted.

"No sex, no revealing clothing," she said.

"No dating, no kissing," Aubrey continued.

"The only males you can spend time with until you're thirty are, you guys, our brothers, and Justin, Carter and Tyler," Violet added.

Aurora stayed silent, the discussion was a little too much for her. She was more like Mac, a little more subdued in public, but could be cheeky when in an environment that she was comfortable in.

"Yes, I know we've said that, and I really meant it," Logan said, a pained looked on his face. "But it's come to my attention that it's not really practical, and we need to face reality, I mean, you're 15 and in high school now Aubrey."

"Woah, woah, woah," Dick said, appalled. "What are you saying Logan? We did **not** discuss this!"

"Just go with it, maybe follow my lead," Logan suggested dryly.

Dick said nothing, he merely looked confused and possibly a little betrayed.

"Girls, I get that you're getting older, and that you're going to want to talk to boys, and I don't want you to think you need to go behind my back to do that. I want you to be able to come to me for that, I'm sure Dick wants that for you too, Caroline and Aurora," Logan said, with a meaningful look at Dick.

Aubrey's blank face had disappeared and a look of astonishment had replaced it. Violet still looked a little amused. Caroline now looked interested, she was very curious to see if her father would go along with Logan.

"So, what are you trying to say exactly, Daddy?" Aubrey asked carefully.

Logan sighed very heavily and said, "All I'm really trying to say is, that I'm trying to get use to the idea of you dating, and in the nearer future. I can't promise to not overreact when the time comes, because you know I will, but I want you to talk to me, and to your mom, and I'll try to be reasonable."

"Let me guess Daddy, you'd also like us to tell Mom about how you behaved during today's instalment of the 'Boys are evil talk'," Violet guessed astutely, a playful smile on her face.

"Of course, if you want to do that, that's fine," Logan said, clearly meaning that they should.

"What about you, Daddy?" Caroline asked Dick, who was still standing by, looking almost statue-like.

"I, I, I guess I need to think about it," Dick said vaguely.

"Or you could just tell me that the same thing goes for me," Caroline suggested hopefully.

"Or I could tell you that I need to think about it," Dick reiterated firmly.

"Fine," Caroline huffed.

"I don't mind Daddy, I don't want to date yet," Aurora said quietly.

"Wonderful! I'm going to buy you a pony," Dick said brightly.

Aurora giggled and said, "Daddy, you've already bought me two ponies."

"Oh that's right," Dick said, as if he'd forgotten. "Well, maybe a boat then."

"Wait, I haven't quite finished our chat," Logan interrupted, seeing that the conversation was getting away from him. "The things we've said before, about boys lying to get what they want, and not dressing in provocative clothes still stand, and we still mean them. But not all guys are bad, like we were, a lot of guys are, but there are a few out there who aren't, and they're the guys you should date. After you've checked thoroughly with us, and we've arranged for background checks. Girls, when the time is right, I want you to find a boy, or preferably a man, when you're older, who treats you well, who respects you, who loves you, and not for what you look like, but for who you are. Oh, and definitely not for the size of your bank accounts."

Caroline, Aubrey, Violet, Aurora **and** Dick all looked suitably floored. Identical looks of awe were on their faces.

Eventually Dick said, "Yeah, I agree with Logan. And I'm not just saying that because what he said sounded totally amazing, but because it's what I want for you girls too."

Logan realised that the girls were actually having a hard time processing what they'd actually just heard, from both fathers, so he decided to give them some space.

"We're going to go and do something with the boys now, you can do whatever you want for now, or at least until your mothers get home," Logan said gently, then he and Dick left the room.

Veronica and Mac had spent the day together, doing whatever it was they did when they had a blessed moment to themselves.

"Veronica Echolls, I can't believe you did that!" Mac groaned.

She and Veronica were the Echolls' BMW series 5 sedan, headed in a north-west direction from Neptune. They had been at the Casablancas' house for most of the afternoon while the others were at the baseball game.

Veronica didn't look overly bothered by Mac's annoyance, but she was glad that she'd waited until there was only fifteen minutes left of their trip.

"Don't worry Q, it'll be fine," Veronica replied soothingly.

"Fine? Fine that you decided to have a dinner party, and invite **Madison Sinclair**, my evil twin, just to prank her and that Brandon Keating. What could've been a nice evening, minus Madison, will now be an evening revolving around cringing at her petty comments, listening to her bitchy remarks, dodging her glares, and watching her fawn over Logan, Duncan and **now** Brandon," Mac ranted.

"I know that Mac, but think about how much fun it will be, watching Brandon squirm while she flirts with him," Veronica said cheerfully. "She'll be too busy trying to get him to like her, to bother about trying to torment us. Besides, Madison mightn't have matured since high school, but we have, or at least enough to ignore her juvenile behaviour."

"Us, matured?" Mac scoffed. "I use to think we might've a little, but you've just planned a birthday dinner mainly for the purpose of pranking two people."

"Well," Veronica said slowly. "Maybe it wasn't the nicest thing I've done recently, but it's happening now, and Lily and Logan are alright with it. Well, Logan doesn't actually know that Madison and Brandon are invited. But how knows, maybe it won't be a disaster, and we'll get a few laughs."

"Veronica, I don't think you're going to live to make it to the dinner," Mac said seriously. "You haven't told Logan? He's going to **kill** you. You know he hates Hollywood types like Brandon, and we all hate Madison, or at least we tolerate her with bad grace."

"Okay, so maybe Logan might be mad with me for a bit," Veronica allowed. "Which probably isn't actually the best timing, seeing as I've told him that he has to grow up and realise that Aubrey and Violet will want to date, and in the somewhat near future."

"You told him that?" Mac asked, astonished. "I've given up on Dick, I just figured Caroline would just date anyway, and then I'd referee when the sparks started to fly."

"Yeah, well I don't know if he's actually going to act on my advice," Veronica replied. "So I guess things could get interesting."

"I'll say," Mac agreed. "Especially seeing as they've got the girls today. They might think it's time for another lecture, I know Dick mentioned having another one soon."

"Quick, check your cell. If things are bad Caroline will have sent up a smoke signal, or six," Veronica said with a grin.

Mac grabbed her cell and said, "Nope, nothing to report."

"Good. Well, we're here now. We'll collect Dad and Alicia, take them home and surprise the kids, and hopefully the house will still be standing," Veronica said, as they pulled into the parking lot at LAX.

"How exactly did you manage to keep it a surprise?" Mac asked, as they walked into the airport building.

"Easy, I just didn't tell them what I was doing today, and I told them that their grandparents would be back next week, which is sort of true, they'll be here next week," Veronica replied impishly.

"When it comes down to it, that was one of your more simple schemes, wasn't it Bond?" Mac asked rhetorically.

"Indeed. Come on Q, their plane has landed, they should be coming out any minute," Veronica said, hurrying towards the right terminal.

Keith and Alicia had gone away mid August for a holiday. They were both retired, so they had plenty of time to do what they wanted with, and Logan and Veronica had given them tickets for a Caribbean cruise as a present. It was a 'Thanks for all the babysitting and everything you do present', rather than for a special occasion. So Keith and Alicia had headed to New York, spent some time there, seeing the sights, then had boarded their ship, which had embarked from New York harbour, and then completed a twelve day round trip.

Mac and Veronica reached the terminal just as the passengers started to appear.

"Thanks for road tripping with me Mac," Veronica said, as she searched the crowd for her father and Alicia.

"No worries, it's good to actually have some 'us' time," Mac replied easily.

"Oh, I can see them!" Veronica exclaimed. Her trained eyes and keen vision had spotted her father as soon as he'd started walking down the ramp, pushing his baggage kart, with Alicia just behind him.

Keith was now getting on in years, a fact that Veronica realised keenly as she looked at him. He had hardly any hair left, and what was left was grey. His stomach had increased a little in size, and he didn't move as quickly as he use to.

But his smile, upon spotting his daughter, was as youthful as ever.

Veronica waved merrily at him, then started through the crowd to meet him.

"Daddy!" Veronica exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

"Miss me?" Keith asked, hugging her back fiercely.

"Only because I noticed that there wasn't this pesky guy bugging me all the time," Veronica teased.

Then she turned to Alicia, hugged and kissed her too.

"Did you bring any of the kids?" Alicia asked.

"No, just Mac actually. None of the kids, or Logan and Dick, know you're coming home today," Veronica answered, taking over Alicia's baggage kart.

"Aren't Logan and Dick still classed as kids?" Keith asked jokingly. "Hi Mac, thanks for being part of the welcoming committee."

"Any time. Leaving the kids with Dick was just a bonus," Mac said cheerfully. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

They walked to the car, Keith and Alicia describing bits and pieces of their trip to Mac and Veronica. Then they loaded the bags into the trunk, disposed of the baggage karts, and started off for Neptune.

"So, I was thinking we'd go straight to our house," Veronica said as she drove. "You can see the kids, surprise them…"

"Give them their presents," Alicia added with a smile.

"And we can all just get pizza for dinner," Veronica finished. "Mac will call Wallace and Amanda, and arrange for them to come over and have pizza with us. Wallace of course knows you're coming home today, but he promised to keep it a secret from his kids too."

"You've always liked a good secret or two," Keith said with a fond smile. "At two it was a secret about which dolly you were hiding, at ten it was about which pony you wanted, at twelve it was which boy you liked, then at seventeen it was more about which case you were working on."

"Client confidentiality is very important," Veronica said seriously. "You taught me that, Dad."

"So I did," Keith said with a chuckle. "How's business been while we've been away?"

"Oh Keith, can't you save the 'shop talk' until later," Alicia requested lightly. "We could go back to telling them about Barbados."

Back in Neptune, Logan and Dick were sitting out on the deck, each nursing a beer.

"Why, why, why did I have to go and say those things?" Logan groaned.

"Holy shit dude, I didn't know what you were thinking," Dick said, drinking a mouthful of his beer. "I mean, I thought the plan was to never let them date."

"Yeah, well Ronnie threatened me with wearing ugly clothes to bed," Logan said dismally. "So it was that, or grow up and face reality. I chose reality, but reality sure sucks."

Dick nodded then said, "Yeah, but at least you sounded good. I mean, I even felt a bit teary, once I realised what you were trying to say to them. And at least Mac and Ronnie will be happy with us."

"Small mercies," Logan said dolefully. "Hey, what if we bought an island, you know, something out in the Pacific, and moved Mac, Ronnie and the kids there, then we'd never have to worry about the girls dating."

"No dude, that'd be worse, 'cause then the only guys would be Tom, Ollie and James, and none of us are related," Dick pointed out.

"Shit, you're right. That'd be so much worse, I'd have to end up threatening your son, and you'd have to threaten mine," Logan agreed.

"Pretty much," Dick replied. "And that would suck."

"So it looks like reality is our only option," Logan said sadly.

"At least reality looks a little better with some beer," Dick said philosophically.

"Logan we're back!" Veronica voice called, floating out from the front of the house, right to the back were Logan and Dick were.

Dick and Logan stood up and wandered inside. The found Veronica, Mac, Keith and Alicia standing in the hall.

"Aubrey, Violet, Ollie, Tom!" Keith called.

Tom and Ollie thundered down the stairs, while Aubrey and Violet raced out of the lounge room.

There was a collective cry of "Grandpa!" and "Grandma!" and they swarmed around their grandparents, hugging them both.

Violet laughed delightedly and said, "We didn't know you were coming back today!"

"Mom and her surprises," Aubrey said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Did you bring back any presents?" Tom asked eagerly.

Alicia laughed indulgently at Tom and said, "There might be some presents, somewhere."

Just then the front door opened, and Wallace, Amanda and there kids walked in.

Upon noticing Keith and Alicia, Tyler and Jasmine ran towards them, and hugged them both. Dakota and Justin followed at a more sedate pace, and hugged them too.

Logan walked over to Veronica and said, "Well Ronnie, you've been busy, haven't you?"

Veronica grinned then called out, "Who wants pizza?

**AN: Thanks for reading! I'll update again after 5 reviews :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: So, in my usual style, I've realised I've made an enormous goof with the timeline, this time in relation to the age of the kids and when they all start school. Oops. So I'm doing my best to fix most of it. I'm changing most of their birthdays so that they will stay in the grade that I thought they were in at school. I've finally determined how to decide what year they're in, they need to be 18 by the time school finishes at the end of May. So Aubrey and Caroline are the eldest in their year. Justin is a year older than his whole year, which will be explained in a later chapter. Everyone else's amended birthdays can be found in the Name Summary chapter, and further details about who's age has been changed. I will also go back and edit the chapters where ages have been mentioned.**

**Hope you all read that! I hate making research and detail blunders :(**

**Anyway, I only got four reviews, but I'm updating today, regardless. Thanks everyone for your reviews, and thanks to Angel and Nichole in particular!**

**Chapter 9**

"So you're going to watch Maegan every Wednesday?" Veronica asked, as she and Logan were getting ready for bed on Thursday night.

Veronica had spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in L.A., being retrained in FBI procedures, and learning all the details concerning the Keating case. Veronica had driven a different car every day, and had worn a different colour wig too. It had really taken her back to her high school days of sneaking around in various costumes.

"Yes, Lily asked me today. Your dad and Alicia are going to mind her Tuesdays," Logan replied. "And I heard that it was you that volunteered me for Maegan duty, Ronnie."

"Oh yes, I might have mentioned you might like minding her," Veronica said cheerfully.

"Of course I love Maegan, and I'm happy to mind her, but I'm starting to feel like a househusband," Logan said with a little chagrin.

"Househusband?" Veronica queried.

"You know, like housewife, but househusband," Logan explained.

"But it's not like you have to do housework, like cooking or cleaning," Veronica countered.

"Yeah, but I take the kids to school, and now you've got me minding Maegan," Logan retorted, a little heat creeping into his tone. "I have a job too Veronica, I have work I have to do."

"I know that Logan, and I know I've been pretty busy this last week, but things are going to slow down now. I realise I've left you to do quite a bit of taking care of the kids, but I'll change things around at work so that I can take them to school some days, and pick them up too," Veronica said.

"Thank you," Logan said, exhaling heavily. He walked over to Veronica and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, I guess I just haven't liked you being so focused on work again. You had all that time off during the summer, and I really liked that. I was thinking you could maybe consider retiring your detective cap soon?"

Veronica had relaxed in Logan's arms, relieved that their mild spat was over, but she began to stiffen when he suggested quitting her job, it just wasn't possible. Maybe, if she hadn't just become involved with the Keating case, she could have considered semi-retirement, but not now.

"But what would I do Logan?" Veronica replied, trying to keep her voice calm. "I mean, the kids are all still in school, you still work, I'd been bored out of my mind. I like my work, but I'll cut back a bit on it now, and spend a bit more time here."

Logan sighed and said, "I guess you're right. Summer is summer, and it can't go on the rest of the year."

"That's right," Veronica said gently. "But don't worry, summer will be here again before you know it."

Veronica and Logan slipped under the covers, and Logan pulled Veronica close to him.

"I love you Ronnie," Logan said softly.

"I love you too," Veronica replied. "I'm also very impressed with you, the girls mentioned the talk you and Dick gave them on Saturday."

"Oh, please don't remind me of that, not when I'm about to go to sleep. I'll have nightmares," Logan said dramatically.

"Alright, but I will just say, you impressed them, and you've impressed me. I also think Mac is going to give you some sort of award for getting Dick to grow up a little," Veronica said, a smile in her voice.

"I try, for you," Logan said, before switching off the lights.

Veronica felt a little guilty then, she had yet to tell Logan that both Brandon Keating and Madison Sinclair would be coming for Liam's birthday dinner. Logan would not doubt be upset with her, especially as it would look like she'd organised the dinner, mainly to pull a prank on Madison and Brandon. If Logan knew the real reason, he'd probably be just as mad, or ever more mad.

Veronica gave a little sigh at her complicated her life had become, but it had been her choice, and she didn't see that there was any other choice she could've made. So she closed her eyes and determined to go to sleep. She had a call to pay on Madison Sinclair the next day.

The next morning Veronica got up, got dressed, and in an especially nice cream skirt suit, with a new pair of very expensive Yves Saint Laurent, nude coloured heels. If she had to go and see Madison Sinclair, there was no way she would give Madison any reason to look down on her choice of clothing.

Logan was still asleep when she had finished dressing, so she walked across to his side of the bed, and shook his shoulder gently.

Logan stirred, opened both eyes sleepily and Veronica said, "It's okay, just keep sleeping. I'll take the kids to school this morning."

Logan nodded, then said with drowsily, "Have a good day."

Veronica smiled, kissed him lightly, then went downstairs.

She found Aubrey sitting at the kitchen bench, eating a slice of toast. She was already dressed for school, wearing her cheer uniform.

"Morning Mom, you look nice today," Aubrey greeted her.

"Thanks sweetie. It's a little strange seeing a Neptune cheer uniform around the house, and on you at that. What's today's occasion? I thought football didn't start until next week?" Veronica questioned.

"It doesn't, but we have a pep rally today, you know, pre-season hype," Aubrey replied.

"Makes sense. Well, we'll be at the game next week, and all things going well, I don't think your father will make me bring a gun to shoot any guy who looks at you," Veronica teased.

"Wonderful Mom. Life is looking up," Aubrey said dryly. "But seriously, I guess it is good he's trying to ease up on his crazy boy rules. Actually, it's really good."

Veronica nodded, then took a bite of her own toast.

"Where are the other kids?" Veronica asked.

"Getting dressed, they ate first," Aubrey answered.

"Good. Well, I'm taking them to school today, and I guess Caroline is picking you up?" Veronica asked in conformation.

"Yeah, it's pretty much just a standing arrangement," Aubrey replied. "Well, I'm done, I'd better go finish getting ready."

Aubrey got off her chair, disposed of her plate, and walked off towards the stairs, her skirt swishing, and her long, blonde hair swaying gently to and fro in it's ponytail.

Veronica smothered a sigh. She remembered the first time she'd held her baby girl, and now she was a young woman. It would have been so easy to go along with Logan's crazy rules, but Veronica knew she had to let her kids grow up, it was just life.

Veronica finished her toast, then went back upstairs to check on Violet, Ollie and Tom. Violet didn't really need to be checked, but Veronica still liked to do it.

"Vi, you almost ready? I'm taking you to school today," Veronica said, pausing outside Violet closed door.

"Yes Mom! Almost dressed," Violet said. "Give me a couple of minutes."

"No hurry, we're leaving in about five minutes," Veronica replied.

Veronica stopped in Oliver's room, and found him dressed, and stuffing things into his school bag.

"Ollie, we're leaving for school soon. Did you eat enough breakfast?" Veronica asked.

"A glass of milk and Pop Tarts," Ollie answered cheerfully.

"Maybe try some cereal or fruit as well, next time," Veronica said with a smile. "See you downstairs in a few minutes."

Veronica then walked into Tom's room, and found him dressed, but in completely mismatching clothes.

Veronica swallowed a chuckle and said, "Hey baby, I think we might need to change your top."

"Why Mommy? It's clean," Tom replied.

"Yeah, but it doesn't quite match your pants," Veronica told him gently. "Here, put this one on."

Tom wiggled out of his first shirt, then put the one Veronica had handed him on.

"Now, that's better. You ready for school now?" Veronica asked.

"Yep!" Tom answered.

"Well, you go downstairs, and I'll be there in a minute. I just need to get my work things," Veronica told him, ruffling his hair.

Veronica went back into her room, where Logan was now fast asleep again, and collected her things. She grabbed her gun, her briefcase, and her purse.

She was about to walk out of the room when she decided against taking her normal, black purse. She walked quickly into her closet and grabbed a cherry coloured, leather Gucci handbag. It was beautiful, and unused. Veronica didn't have a habit of buying such expensive purses, but the more she shopped with Lily, the more she tended to indulge herself in what she spent on clothing and accessories. She had bought the Gucci purse on her most recent shopping trip with Lily, but hadn't used it yet, but today seemed to be the perfect occasion. It would match her suit perfectly, and it would fit right into Madison's world.

Veronica quickly transferred all her things into the new purse, then walked quickly downstairs with her things.

"Care's here," Aubrey said. "See you tonight Mom."

"Have a good day sweetie," Veronica said. "Boys, Vi, let's go!"

Veronica and her three youngest children piled into her Audi and headed for Neptune Elementary. There she left Tom and Ollie, then drove straight on to Sun View and dropped Violet off. Then she drove to her office and went over some details for the Connor case, then went and had a meeting with the same Mr Connors.

By the time Veronica had finished there, she had just enough time to go back to her office to run a couple of background checks before she went to pick Lily up to go and see Madison. They were heading over there a little earlier than most people had lunch, to make sure that Madison would be around, instead of having some overpriced salad somewhere with her fake friends.

In the elevator mirror, Veronica checked her appearance, and upon close scrutiny, decided that she looked pretty damn good. It was comforting in the face of having to spend her lunch hour sucking up to Madison Sinclair, to get her to come to dinner. Then again, it wasn't strictly her lunch hour, it was really for her FBI case, which definitely counted as work.

"_The things I do to stop violent hate crimes_," Veronica thought wryly, driving towards the Armistead's house.

Veronica pulled up at the curb and walked over to the front of the house and knocked lightly on the front door.

"Hi Aunt Ronica," Lily said, looking distractedly at Maegan, who she was carrying. "We're almost ready to go."

"Okay, do you want help with the kids?" Veronica asked.

"That would be wonderful. Their lunch and a few toys are in that bag over there. Would you take it to my car?" Lily asked gratefully.

"Sure, should I take Dylan with me and put him in his seat?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, please. I'll just call for him," Lily replied. "Dylan! Aunt Ronica is here."

Dylan's footsteps could be heard racing down the hall, and he appeared shortly, looking clean and happy.

He hugged Veronica around the legs and said, "We is going to Grandpa Mars' house!"

"Yes you are," Veronica agreed. "Come on, let's go get in Mommy's car."

Veronica and Lily had agreed upon taking Lily's BWM, it was much simpler, owing to the fact that both Maegan and Dylan still had car seats. Lily and Veronica were dropping Maegan and Dylan and Keith and Alicia's house before they went to Madison's. It worked quite well, they'd be able to talk to Madison without the bother of watching the children, and Keith and Alicia could have a sort of practice run for the next week. It would only be a couple of hours, instead on a whole day, like it would be on Tuesday, but it was still good for them. Dylan however, would not be going to Keith and Alicia's on Tuesdays, for Liam and Lily had been successful in enrolling him at Harper Preschool for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lily was all set to return to work.

Veronica led Dylan out to the car, her purse on one shoulder, the children's bag on the other, and Dylan's hand secured firmly in her own. She strapped him into his seat, and then Lily came out with Maegan, and her things.

Once Maegan was strapped into her seat, and Veronica and Lily were in their seats, they headed across town, to Neptune's middle class area, and soon enough, pulled up in front of Keith and Alicia's modest home.

When they reached the front door and had rung the bell, Keith opened the door and said, "Well, if it isn't three of my favourite girls, and Dylan!"

Lily was holding her daughter, and Veronica was once again holding Dylan's hand.

"Hi Dad," Veronica said cheerfully.

"Hey Grandpa Mars," Lily added. "Meggie, say hi to Grandpa Mars."

Maegan grinned and said, "Hi!"

Keith then said, "How about I take her. Come on in Dylan, Grandma Alicia is just in the kitchen making our lunch."

"Mommy brought our lunch," Dylan announced, walking inside.

Lily and Veronica followed him in, Veronica holding the kids bag.

"All their things are in this bag Grandpa Mars, food, toys, a change of clothes in case they get into a mess," Lily said. "They should be fine though, we won't be gone too long."

"Thanks for minding them Dad," Veronica added.

"No worries, we'll have fun, won't we kids?" Keith said. "Have a nice lunch you two. We'll see you later. Say bye to your mom Maegan and Dylan."

Keith, Dylan and Maegan waved from the front door as Lily and Veronica walked back to the car.

Once inside the car Lily said, "I somehow don't think we're going to have much fun."

Veronica looked grim, then laughed. "Oh, she might be a piece of work, but it'll be alright. Madison's problem is that she doesn't know how to take a joke, or make one for that matter, so it's easy enough to find her amusing."

"I somehow don't think that having no sense of humour is Madison's only problem," Lily said dryly. "And it's not like we can laugh at her to her face either. The whole time we're with her we'll have to be so polite, and be careful not to annoy her. Aunt Ronica, before it seemed like such a good idea to make her come to dinner as Brandon's date, but now it seems like a bit of a hassle."

"Oh, it'll be worth it," Veronica said determinedly. It had to be. Lily's little speech had worried Veronica slightly. She was relying on Madison Sinclair's involvement to try and begin her extremely covert investigation of Brandon Keating.

Lily drove back into the 09er zip and they headed for Madison's house.

Madison lived about fifteen minutes from the Echolls', several blocks off the beach. The housed she lived in was part of the settlement from her last divorce.

Lily pulled up on the opposite site of the street to Madison's house, and she and Veronica got out of the car.

"Well, here goes," Veronica said, as brightly as possible.

Lily wasn't listening though, she was looking at Veronica. She'd been too busy with her children before, to notice what Veronica was wearing.

"Why, Aunt Veronica, you look lovely!" Lily exclaimed. "See, I told you that Gucci purse was a great investment. It goes so well with that suit."

"Yes, you were right. You pretty much always are when it comes to fashion," Veronica allowed. "I decided seeing as it was Madison, I should dress to impress. I also had a meeting this morning, so it didn't hurt to look extra nice."

"Well, hopefully your outfit will soften Madison's thoughts towards you," Lily said hopefully. "Come on, I'll ring the bell."

Lily rang the bell, and they waited for Madison to open it.

Instead, Madison's maid opened the door.

"Hi, we're here to see Madison," Lily said pleasantly. "You can tell her it's Lily Armistead."

Madison did not hate Lily, like she did Veronica, Lily only giving her name was a good move. Lily was, after all, heir to the Kane fortune, and nothing spoke to Madison's cold, stony little heart, like power and money.

"I will get her for you," the maid said.

"Of course Madison has someone to open her front door," Veronica said quietly.

"I'd say she's probably more needed to cook and clean," Lily said dryly.

Just then they heard Madison's heels clacking along the floor, becoming louder as she neared them.

"Why Lily Kane," Madison. "So nice of you to stop by–. Ugh, Veronica Mars, what do you want."

"Hi Madison, it's been Lily Armistead for a while now," Lily said pleasantly.

"Madison, nice to see you as always," Veronica said as politely as possible. "Lily and I were just in the neighbourhood, and thought we'd stop by."

"Oh, how thoughtful," Madison said blandly. "Do come in. I'll have Maria get us something to drink."

The three women walked into Madison's formal lounge room, and sat down.

Maria appeared soon after and gave both Lily and Veronica a glass of orange juice, and Madison, a glass of wine.

"So, we actually stopped by, because I thought of something as we drove past," Lily began.

"Yes, Logan and I are hosting a dinner for Liam's birthday. Liam is Lily's husband, Madison," Veronica informed her, seeing as it was clear Madison hadn't quite figured out who Liam was.

"And, see the thing is, we're one short to make numbers even. Brandon Keating is coming, but he doesn't have a date, and we thought of you," Lily explained cheerfully. "We'd hate for him to be the odd one out, and we know he'd enjoy your company."

Madison looked suspiciously at them at first, then after studying Lily's apparently sincere face said, "Brandon Keating, from _General _Hospital? Why is he coming, and how do you know he'd enjoy my company?"

"Oh, Brandon lives down the road from my dad, and close to Liam and me as well," Lily replied casually. "He's been a friend for a while, so I know he'd would like you to be his date."

Veronica smothered a smile at Lily's interpretation of reality. Brandon, a friend?

"So, you want me to come to this dinner, as a favour to you?" Madison asked.

"Yes, if you're free," Veronica said. "The dinner is October 2nd, at our house. No kids, just adults."

"Who else will be there?" Madison asked, as if Logan Echolls, Brandon Keating weren't enticement enough.

"My dad, his wife Evelyn, a few other family friends, Liam's parents, and a couple of Liam's colleagues," Lily answered. 'Family friends' of course meant Mac and Dick, and Amanda and Wallace, but it was much safer not to tell Madison that.

Madison pulled out her phone, then after looking at it for a minute said snootily, "It happens that I am free then, so I will come, as a favour to you. And I'd hate for Brandon to be the odd one out, especially at a dinner held by you, Veronica."

"Oh thank you Madison, that is very good of you," Veronica said graciously. "I'm sure Brandon will be very grateful too. I'm sure Lily will let him know that you're going to be there to keep him company."

"Of course I will," Lily affirmed. "Well, I'm sure we've taken up enough of your time Madison, unless you'd like to join us for lunch?"

"Oh, I can't. I'm meeting Shelly and Carrie for lunch," Madison said, trying to make it sound like she was sorry she couldn't join them. Of course she failed dismally at that.

"Right, well, we'll be going then," Veronica said, standing. "Thanks again for agreeing to help us out."

With that Madison left them at the front door, and Veronica and Lily walked back to her BMW.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Lily said, once they were safely in the car. "Now all you have to do is tell Uncle Logan, host the dinner and survive the dinner."

"Yes, that's all," Veronica said dryly, and Lily didn't even know the half of it.

Indeed, all she had to do, as Lily had said, was tell her husband that she'd invited Madison Sinclair and Brandon Keating for dinner host the dinner and survive the dinner. Then on top of that, try to uncover details about Brandon Keating and his involvement with white supremacists, and through that, stop hate crimes against African Americans. Then meanwhile, she had to be a mother to her four children, a good daughter, a good wife, and still run her own business, not to mention check in with the FBI semi-regularly about the Keating case. Yes, life was looking fun.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :) I'll update after 5 reviews!**


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: Update time! Thanks for those who've reviewed and alerted over the last few days :) Thanks Nichole and Angel! More family drama and Madison drama coming up soon :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 10**

The next Wednesday afternoon, Violet was sitting on Aubrey's bed when she crowed excitedly, "I told you so!"

"Be quiet, will you! We don't want Mom and Dad to hear," Aubrey said tensely.

Veronica was already home from work, because she had picked the boys and Violet up from school. She'd cut back on her hours at work, as she had promised Logan. Logan of course was working from home, and had minded Maegan for the first time. Aubrey was already home from cheer practice because they'd finished early because the captain, Rose, had a dentist appointment. Caroline, who was for all intents and purposes the vice captain, could've continued the practice, but the girls just decided to have an early mark.

Violet giggled and said, "Fine, fine. But I did tell you, I said that by the end of the fourth week of school, someone would've asked you out."

"Yeah, you're a real genius," Aubrey retorted dryly.

"So, I want details! You haven't even told me who asked you out," Violet said, her voice more quiet.

"It was Dan Moss, he's a junior," Lily said.

"And an 09er," Violet added.

"Of course. Guys who aren't 09ers seem a little intimidated by me, it's hard to get them to talk to me. Oh, except for Justin of course," Aubrey replied.

"So, what did you say?" Violet asked.

"I told him that I'd need to think about it," Aubrey replied.

"Oh, I'm sure he loved that," Violet said dryly.

"Yes, I think he thought I was being snooty or something, being a freshman and telling a junior that I needed time to think about it," Aubrey said a little sadly.

"Did he say that he thought you were snooty?" Violet asked.

"Oh no, he just looked a bit put out. He was actually all nice and casual about it all, just told me to let him know," Aubrey said.

"And it's for Homecoming, right?" Violet questioned.

"Yes, he asked me to Homecoming, but he also asked me if I wanted to see a movie this weekend," Aubrey replied.

"Well, do you want to?" Violet asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean, he's a junior, he's on the football team, he's rather attractive, and he's nice," Aubrey listed.

"Glad to see nice made it in there, if it was a last though," Violet pointed out.

"Oh, shut up, Vi," Aubrey retorted. "I guess I would've said yes right when he asked me, except for that little factor called Dad. Mom shouldn't be anything to worry about at least."

"Well, at least Dad did make that new version of the boy lecture the other week," Violet said optimistically.

"I suppose," Aubrey agreed. "So, do I tell Mom first? When do I tell her? Do I tell them both at once, and in public? Do I not tell them, and just announce that I have a date?"

"Oh you have to tell them. Just tell Mom what you told me, put it simply, then leave Daddy to her," Violet suggested. "You'd better tell her tonight, so you can give Dan an answer tomorrow, otherwise you'll have to explain why you're delaying."

"And that's be great. 'Oh Dan, the reason why I'm stalling is, that I have to ask my Dad's permission, and he's kind of scary. Plus, my mom owns a gun and has a license to carry a concealed weapon'. Yeah, that'd send him running for the hills, and any other guys who might've asked me out," Aubrey said wryly.

"Exactly, so you need to have this first, scary time out, otherwise your dating life will be doomed," Violet said. "Go on, no time like the present. Find Mom. I'll be waiting here, reading this magazine, until you return triumphantly."

"Thanks Vi," Aubrey said. "See you soon, hopefully."

"Don't worry, I'll send the boys in on a rescue mission if I don't see you soon!" Violet called to Aubrey's retreating back.

Aubrey went downstairs, and found her mother in the kitchen, baking a batch of snickerdoodles. If all else failed, they could be given to Logan to help ease the pain of what Aubrey had to say.

Aubrey quickly and quietly told her mother the condensed version of her discussion with Violet.

Veronica looked suddenly more tired, and felt rather old and a little sad. But the look of intrigue and hope on her daughter's face, and the knowledge that she was counting on her to tell Logan and smooth the way steadied her, she needed to be a supportive mom for Aubrey, and she wanted her daughter to be happy.

"I'll go and talk to your father now, that's what you want, right?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, I want to give Dan an answer, and I want to get it over with. Dad knowing, I mean," Aubrey said confusingly. "You had better take a few snickerdoodles with you for Daddy."

Veronica nodded, and put together a plate of snickerdoodles and wandered into Logan's office.

There was an addition to Logan's office, Maegan was playing with her toys, set up in a playpen, so Logan could keep an eye on her. Lily hadn't come to pick her up yet, and wouldn't until a little after five.

Maegan would hopefully be useful in helping to keep Logan from blowing up.

"Mmm, snickerdoodles, my favourite," Logan said, upon smelling their aroma.

"Lots of things are your favourite," Veronica said lightly. "Logan, I need to talk to you about something."

Logan swivelled around fully, and looked seriously at Veronica.

"Ronnie, is everything alright?" Logan asked in concern.

"Oh yes, everything's fine. You just mightn't think so," Veronica said with a small smile.

"Just tell me," Logan pleaded.

"Well, it's this way. A boy asked Aubrey out, to a movie, and to Homecoming, and she wants to say yes," Veronica said in a rush.

Logan sat very still, then went a charming shade of green. Then he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It was very much a rarity, to find Logan Echolls speechless.

Eventually Logan managed to say, "She hasn't said yes yet? So she hasn't said no either?"

"No, she said she needed time to think," Veronica answered. "Which really meant that she need to talk to us."

"Can we say that she can't?" Logan asked hopefully.

"No we can't, but we could get Aubrey to get Caroline go too, with a boy too of course," Veronica replied. "That way it'll be a double date, removing any alone time, and Dick can be miserable with you."

"I'm still a fan of locking her in a tower until she's thirty," Logan said sadly.

"Well, I'm glad you know that you can't," Veronica replied.

"Well, can I at least meet the guy, and scare him thoroughly?" Logan asked, brightening considerably.

"I think that would be alright, it is a father's job after all," Veronica allowed with a smile. "I think you're going to be just fine at that particular task too."

"I quite agree with you Sugarpus," Logan said, almost gleefully, especially in comparison to his prior dull mood. "Oh, what's his name?"

"Dan, or Daniel I guess, Moss," Veronica answered. "Don't worry, I'll do a background check in a few minutes."

"I'm so glad I married you," Logan said genuinely. "And go figure, she wants to date someone named after our old dog."

Danny, the dog, had died a couple of years before, just of old age, but he hadn't been replaced, as the idea had been preposterous to the children. They didn't want a new dog, not just after their faithful old one had died.

"Speaking of dogs," Veronica began. "I think it's about time we got another one. Danny has been gone a while now, and I think the kids would be fine with it. I miss having a dog around the house."

"Okay, we can look in to it," Logan replied. "Maybe start looking around this weekend?"

"Sounds good. Don't forget we have to go to Aubrey's first game too on Friday," Veronica added.

"I won't forget. Oh, maybe I'll be able to find this Dan character, and give him a bit of a pre-date scare. Maybe he will be so scared he'll back out of the date," Logan said hopefully.

"Yes dear," Veronica said airily, ignoring his silliness. "I'm going now. I have children to check on, and background checks to run!"

Veronica disappeared to her bedroom, where she'd left her laptop when she'd come home from work. She quickly ran a search on Daniel Moss, and once she was satisfied, closed the lid and walked across to Aubrey's room.

Aubrey and Violet were lying on Aubrey's bed, and both had their homework spread out around them.

"You can go out with Dan, Aubrey," Veronica said. "I talked to your father, ran a background check, so you can go."

"Mom!" Aubrey exclaimed. "You ran, a **background** check?"

"Yes I did, it's something that I'm not going to budge on, and your father is in full agreement. Besides, I said you can go. One speeding ticket doesn't make a boy dangerous after all," Veronica replied.

Aubrey looked like she was about to keep arguing about the whole background check thing, but then changed her mind and said, "Thanks Mom."

"There's one last condition though," Veronica added.

Violet and Aubrey looked very curious.

"We want you to see if Caroline will go to the movies with you and Dan on Saturday night," Veronica said.

"Oh that won't be hard, guys love Caroline, especially as they haven't been able to go out with her, thanks to Uncle Dick," Violet said with a giggle.

"That's it? I'm sure Care be happy to come, with a guy, but I'm not so sure Uncle Dick will be happy about it," Aubrey said uncertainly.

"Yes, Uncle Dick will be miserable about it, that's the point. He and your father can be sad, old men together," Veronica said cheerfully. "So, I guess you have people to call, and arrangements to make now? Well, I'm going to leave you to it."

"Thanks Mommy," Aubrey said quietly.

"I'll go now too," Violet said, collecting her things. "I wasn't getting much done in here anyway."

"Okay," Aubrey said distractedly, reaching for her phone.

Violet and Veronica smiled, and left the room.

Aubrey dialled Caroline's number.

"Care, it's me," Aubrey said.

"I know, silly! I've kind of had caller I.D. for forever," Caroline replied, laughing.

"Right, of course," Aubrey said sheepishly.

"So, have you asked your parents? Can you go?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, they said it's fine," Aubrey began.

"How exciting!" Caroline squealed. "Now I just need to decide which boy I should date, seeing as Daddy changed the rules, and everything will be great!"

"Well, yes, that's the thing. If you could perhaps, choose a boy by Saturday, that would be super," Aubrey replied.

"Ah, why?" Caroline asked, confused.

"Because Mom and Dad said that they want you, and some guy, to come with us on Saturday, like a double date. What they really want is an unobtrusive chaperone," Aubrey said dryly.

"Done! Brent Crawley asks me out every couple of weeks, so it's about time I say yes. Wow, this whole being allowed to date thing is a bit of a novelty," Caroline replied.

"I know, and I can't actually believe you didn't date at all last year. I mean heaps of guys wanted to date you. You could've worked it so that Uncle Dick didn't know," Aubrey said.

"Yeah, I know, it's because I'm hot and rich," Caroline said with supreme confidence in her own beauty. "I mean, I could've, but Daddy would've known, and I would actually hate to crush him like that."

"And make him angry," Aubrey added astutely.

"Yes, that too. And besides, there weren't that many guys I actually wanted to go on dates with anyway," Caroline returned. "This way is so much better, you're at Neptune High with me now, and Daddy's let up on his stupid rules. We're going to have **so** much fun!"

"Yes we are!" Aubrey agreed happily. "Well, I've got an English paper due tomorrow for Mrs Hastie, so I'd better do."

"Okay, you're such a good student," Caroline said. "Wait, so tomorrow, you can tell Dan yes, I'll hunt Brent up and suggest that going out might be a good idea. I'll manage it all, and we can make plans to see a movie Saturday night."

"Very good, but I am going now. We can talk tomorrow, and we've got dinner at your place too," Aubrey said. "Bye Caroline."

"Bye Aub," Caroline returned, and hung up her phone.

Caroline got up then, and breezed down stairs, singing cheerfully.

"What's got you so happy?" James asked, as she walked past his room.

"Never you mind Jamie, you'll know soon enough," Caroline said airily, continuing on her way to find her mother.

Caroline had no such qualms about telling her mother her plans for the weekend, she wasn't even really bothered about talking to her father about it either. She giggled to herself, thinking about the fact that she was about to tell her parents she was going on a double date on the weekend, when she actually hadn't secured a date. She would of course, Caroline Casablancas was adored by most people in general. There were of course those her thought her snobby and bitchy, which she was from time to time, but for the most part, she was well liked. Her sunny smiles, vibrant laugh, popularity, beauty and wealth saw to that.

"Mom," Caroline began, upon finding Mac working at her laptop.

"Yes Caroline, what is it?" Mac asked, spinning around.

"I just wanted to say that I have plans with Aubrey to go on double date, this Saturday. It's just to a movie," Caroline explained serenely.

"With who?" Mac asked calmly.

"Brent Crawley, he's a junior," Caroline answered.

"Okay. Has Aubrey spoken to her parents about this?" Mac queried.

"Yes, she spoke to them before she rang me," Caroline replied.

"Alright, I guess I'll ring Aunt Veronica later to talk about it. Well your curfew will be eleven, like normal. Do you want to talk to your dad or will I?" Mac asked.

Caroline swallowed and said, "I'll do it Mom."

"Good luck sweetie," Mac said cheerfully.

"Thanks Mom," Caroline said sarcastically.

Caroline walked down the hall, and into her father's office, where he was having a heated discussion on the phone.

"No, I told you specifically **not** to hire him. I wanted the other guy. It's my business, so you'll run it the way I tell you to," Dick said, his tone fairly radiating annoyance.

Dick owned a number of companies, and oversaw them, with a little help from Mac. This form of work allowed Dick to have a large income, without having to do very much, and it suited him enormously.

"No, just do it, and ring me when you've taken care of it," Dick said, then hung up.

"Hi Princess, sorry about that," Dick said, turning to Caroline.

"It's alright Daddy," Caroline replied.

"What's up?" Dick asked. "How was your day?"

"My day was good," Caroline answered. "In fact, I wanted to tell you that I kind of have a double date, with Aubrey, for Saturday night. Is that alright?"

"Logan is letting Aubrey go out on Saturday night, with a boy?" Dick fairly roared.

"Calm down Daddy," Caroline said soothingly. "Yes, he is. Remember, you told us that it was okay for us to date. Just that we had to ask you first. This is me asking."

"I know what I said, and what Logan said, the damn idiot," Dick fumed. "I didn't think that you'd actually start dating practically straight away."

"Dad, it's just one movie. Aubrey will be there too," Caroline explained calmly.

"Fine. But if you're home one **second** after eleven, there will be trouble!" Dick insisted. "Oh Caroline, do you really have to go out with this boy? What's his name?"

"His name is Brent," Caroline answered, hoping that she could actually get him to agree to go out. It would certainly make things more difficult for her if he didn't.

"Brent. Brent what?" Dick asked calculatingly.

"Brent Crawley. Mom is already ringing Aunt Veronica, I'm sure they'll take care of the background check," Caroline said dryly.

"I wasn't thinking that at all," Dick protested.

"You were Daddy, I know you. Besides, you already told us you'd be running background checks," Caroline retorted.

"Are you sure you have to grow up?" Dick asked, pulling Caroline into a hug.

"I'm afraid so, Daddy," Caroline answered. "But don't worry, I'll always be your princess."

The next day, Veronica was sitting in her office, reading her case notes regarding Brandon Keating, and the hate crimes against African Americans.

A black church in Louisiana had been burnt to the ground the night before, thankfully, no one had been hurt. Most of the crimes involved people being hurt. There were beatings, shootings, stabbings, bombs, the odd hit and run. There seemed to be no real pattern in the crimes, just that they were all against the African American community. Therefore the media hadn't suggested that the crimes were connected, which was good for the FBI's investigation.

The FBI had found that the crimes were organised by one group, National Alliance, but they hadn't been able to find out where they met, and who their leaders were. They had some suspects, thanks to information gained from interrogating people that they'd arrested from the various crimes over the years. Brandon Keating had been seen with some of the suspects, and then all his public remarks had been closely analysed, and it was clear that he was a white supremacist. Then, eventually, the FBI had contacted Veronica and put her in charge of getting to know Keating, following him and then, finding out where the National Alliance group was based out of, and who were the main people in charge. Any paperwork that Veronica could get her hands on would be helpful in capturing, charging and convicting as many people as possible.

Veronica looked at the information before her, and sighed, her work was more than cut out for her, and she had yet to tell Logan that Madison and Brandon would be attending the dinner party, which was just over a week away.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review :)**


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Thanks Ali-cat, Angel and Nichole for your reviews, you guys are great to keep on reviewing :)**

**Chapter 11**

"So, how does it feel to have a license?" Veronica asked Justin, as they sat in the stands at Neptune High.

The Echolls, Casablancas and Fennel families were all at Neptune to watch Aubrey and Caroline cheer at the first game of season.

Justin had just turned sixteen, and had got his license. Justin was a year old for his year, as he'd been very sick for many months back in elementary school, and had had to repeat the year. All being right, he would've started high school the year before with Caroline.

Justin tore his eyes away from the cheerleaders, and said, "Oh yeah, it's great. I mean, I don't have my own car, but Mom and Dad let me use one of the cars, so it's much better than nothing."

"Are you going to get your own car?" Veronica asked.

"Soon, hopefully. I've almost got enough saved, Dad said they'd match whatever I made," Justin answered, his eyes flitting back to the pretty girls in their skimpy cheer uniforms.

Veronica realised that she really didn't have his full attention, and smothered a smirk. There was some sort of irresistible allure about cheerleaders for teenage boys. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Justin hitting on Caroline or Aubrey, and that pretty much put him in a minority of one.

Veronica turned to Logan, who was on her other side, and said, "So, how're you coping?"

"Me? Oh I'm just dandy," Logan said sarcastically. "Half the male population here as already made my list."

"Your list?" Veronica questioned.

"Yes, my list of males who need to be decapitated for ogling at my daughter," Logan said grimly.

Veronica starting laughing at Logan, who pouted in turn.

"Oh, you're too much sometimes," Veronica chuckled.

She knew that Logan's threats were merely idle ones, and served the purpose of letting out his irritation at guys who looked at his precious daughter.

"Yes, I am rather something else, aren't I?" Logan asked rhetorically. "_Time_ magazine said so at least."

"Yes, the media does seem to love you, it's a good thing you're not so fond of it, or else your head might be rather large by now," Veronica said dryly.

"I thought you thought my head was too big already," Logan retorted.

Veronica just grinned impishly, and Logan gave her a swift peck on the lips.

The girls started a routine then, so Logan and Veronica turned their attention to their daughter, then after that they focused on the game.

Towards the end of the first half Logan said, "I was thinking we should go to Napa for the week, while the kids are off for Fall Break. I'll talk to the others, and we should all go..."

Veronica hadn't really been listening to Logan properly, she was too busy thinking about the fact that she hadn't told Logan the full truth about the upcoming dinner party. So instead of replying about the plans for Fall Break she said, "Logan, Madison Sinclair and Brandon Keating are coming to dinner next weekend. For Liam's birthday."

The crowd was loud and rowdy around them, but everything seemed to go quite still and quiet for Logan.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Logan asked quietly.

"I said Madison Sinclair and Brandon Keating are coming to dinner next weekend," Veronica repeated.

"Oh, so I did hear you correctly," Logan said in a funny voice. "Good joke, Sugarpus. Now, what do you think about heading to Napa for the week?"

"Logan, I'm not joking. Please just be serious while we talk about this for a minute," Veronica requested.

"Fine," Logan said irritably. "I'd like to hear you explain this one."

"Well, it's like this. Lily and I ran into Brandon on the beach, and we, or I guess I, came up with this idea to set Brandon and Madison up, as each others' date for Liam's birthday dinner. So I guess that part is actually a joke," Veronica explained.

"Well, I hope it's worth it for you, Veronica. Torturing the rest of your guests, just so that you can get a few laughs," Logan said in an icy tone.

Veronica cursed inwardly, their conversation wasn't going well.

"I'm sorry Logan. It was stupid of me, I know that know. I acted rashly, but it's done now. Hopefully it won't be too bad, and who knows, maybe they will actually like each other?" Veronica suggested.

"Fine," Logan replied tiredly. "If this turns into an enormous mess though, I'm not helping you clean it up. It's all on you, and Lily, who I presume is your partner in crime this time. I can hardly imagine Mac is pleased about your little plot. Have you even told her?"

"Oh, I'll take care of everything," Veronica said shortly. "And yes, I've told her. She reacted much better than you did, actually. It might have something to do with the fact that she's actually a mature adult."

Anger flashed in Logan's eyes, and he looked like he was about to make a hot retort, but stopped himself, remembering that they were in the very public grounds of Neptune High, surrounded by friends, children, and even fans.

Veronica however, was immediately contrite after her harsh words, she was after all, in the wrong.

"Oh Logan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I've somehow gone back to high school days, and become rash and bitchy. I guess it's the affect of Neptune High," Veronica said, attempting to lighten the situation. "I'll just cancel the dinner party."

She meant it too, she wasn't going to compromise what she had with Logan over Brandon Keating. She'd have to come up with another way to unobtrusively get to know him better.

However, Logan's face softened and he said, "No, you don't need to do that. I'm sorry too, for reacting so strongly. I'm sure I'll survive an evening with Madison Sinclair in the same house, God knows I've done it before. And maybe it will turn out to be funny."

Veronica gave him a grateful smile, and slipped her hand into his.

"So, what do you think about Napa for Fall Break?" Logan asked, showing that he was ready to move on, and go back to their previous topic.

"I think it sounds great. I'll make sure I've taken care of all my case work by then, and don't take on anything new that will get in the way," Veronica replied. The Keating case would have to go on hold in all likelihood, because there was no way Veronica was going to manoeuvrer things to have Brandon come to Napa too. No, she would have to stop active investigation for the week, she had to maintain her cover after all. At least she'd be able to go over what evidence she had by that stage, and work on some analysis.

The game finished, with Neptune narrowly losing, but the cheerleaders did a great job supporting the team, and keeping the crowd involved and enthused.

The next day, being Saturday, meant that everyone was home from work and school. Wallace, Amanda and their kids dropped by for lunch at the Echolls'.

After lunch Dakota and Violet were up in Violet's room, painting their nails, and Aubrey and Justin were downstairs talking, and keeping an eye on the younger four, who were all engaged in playing a video game.

"Can you believe how much homework Mr Murphey gave us for Biology?" Aubrey asked, before glancing down at the phone and answering a message.

"Yeah, I can believe it," Justin replied dryly. "He's such a grumpy old guy. Is that Caroline you're texting?"

"Yeah, we're just talking about our plans for tonight, you know, what to wear and other stuff," Aubrey replied vaguely.

"Oh yeah, I totally know," Justin said sarcastically. "I always check with my friends what to wear before I go out."

Aubrey gave him a withering glance, but then grinned. Their banter was always playful, even if there seemed to be a sting to their words.

"So I take it you're still going out with Dan tonight?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, I can't believe Daddy hasn't changed his mind and made me cancel," Aubrey said excitedly.

"Yeah, you and me both," Justin agreed. "And Uncle Dick for that matter, he's even worse than your dad."

"I know, right. But Caroline is better at managing him than I am at managing my dad. Luckily I've got Mom to do that," Aubrey remarked.

"Your mom is pretty super," Justin agreed. "So, who did Caroline end up getting to go with her tonight? I heard you guys discussing it, but I didn't end up hearing who she managed to catch."

"Oh she decided on Brent Crawley, so Brent Crawley she got," Aubrey said with a chuckle. "You know Caroline."

"As does everyone," Justin said with a smile.

"Well, I think I'll actually go and get Dakota to do my nails, seeing as they've got the stuff out. So unless you'd like to have your nails done, I'll leave you here," Aubrey said, getting to her feet.

"Yeah, I think I'll give the girly time a miss," Justin said dryly.

Aubrey grinned at him and headed for the stairs.

Justin watched her leave, then turned his attention to the video game that was being played.

Upstairs Aubrey found Violet and Dakota, watching a movie while their nails dried.

"Want to do mine when yours are done?" Aubrey asked them, as she walked into the room.

"Sure!" Violet exclaimed.

"I will," Dakota offered at the same time.

Aubrey grinned, sometimes it was useful to be the eldest.

"Well, one of you can do my fingers, and the other my toes," Aubrey suggested. "Or one of you could do my hair. I have a date tonight after all."

Dakota and Violet both let out little squeals, and probably would've clapped their hands with excitement if their nails weren't wet.

"I'll take that for a yes, so I'll go and shower while your nails finish drying," Aubrey said, retracing her steps out of the room, and across the hall to her own room.

After taking off her jewellery, she slipped on her bath robe, the trotted down the hall towards the bathroom.

She took her time showering, knowing there was plenty of time left in the afternoon, and that it would be best that Violet and Dakota's own nails were properly dry before they did hers.

Aubrey returned to Violet's room, hair washed and dried, and wearing a simple shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Do your worst girls," she said cheerfully, plopping down on the bed.

"What colour do you want?" Dakota asked. "I mean, what are you wearing tonight?"

"I thought I'd wear that little black skirt, you know the one, high waisted and floaty. And probably that lacy, purple top," Aubrey answered. "So black, silver, or purple works, I guess."

"Silver," Violet and Dakota both said at once, then laughed.

Aubrey laughed too and said, "Silver it is."

Dakota grabbed the bottle of silver polish, and Violet walked over to her dresser and said, "How do you want your hair?"

"Oh, you can just curl it," Aubrey answered. "Whatever you like really. I don't want to look like I belong in the 80s or anything though."

"Right, no crazy frizz," Violet said, grabbing her curling iron.

Once they were settled on the bed, Dakota said, "So, what's he like?"

"Who, Dan?" Aubrey asked.

"Of course, you idiot," Dakota replied.

"Tall, tanned, muscley, total eye candy," Violet supplied.

"Thanks, Vi," Aubrey said dryly. "Well, he is those things, but he's nice too. It's not like I know him that well or anything, but he's a junior, and he talks to me, and like I'm not stupid, so I think things could go well."

"Well, he'd be stupid to screw up a date with you," Violet said loyally.

"I bet all the other guys are annoyed he got in first," Dakota said, totally unaware of the double meaning her words held.

"You're both too sweet," Aubrey said with a smile, laughing inwardly at the unintended innuendo in Dakota's words. "It's just a date though. From what I've heard, high school is mainly about that, so I think there'll be plenty more time for dating, and definitely dating other boys."

"It's your first date, and you're already thinking about more dates?" Violet asked with a giggle. "You sound like Caroline!"

"Well, she is my best friend," Aubrey replied, grinning.

"Well, your nails are done, they just need to dry now. Give them half an hour before you do anything," Dakota instructed.

"And I'm just about done with your hair. Do you want us to put on a movie for you to watch while your nails dry?" Violet asked.

"That'd be good. How about an old classic, _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_?" Aubrey suggested.

"Any Harry Potter movie is always a good option," Violet replied. "Dakota, would you stick the movie on?"

Dakota got up and put the movie on as Violet finished with Aubrey's hair.

The afternoon continued to move on, the Fennels left, Aubrey's nails dried, she got dressed and had a quick bite of dinner.

The movie was to start at 8, so Dan was picking Aubrey up at 7.30, and they were meeting Caroline and Brent at the cinema.

At 7.17, Aubrey moved into the living room, and sat on the couch that was up against the window at the front of the house. She kept peeking out the drapes every few minutes, and fidgeted constantly, as she was filled with nervous energy.

At 7.25, Logan came into the room and sat down next to her.

"So, are you more nervous about your date, or about me meeting your date?" Logan asked lightly.

"Good question," Aubrey replied, a little grimly.

"Well cheer up sweetheart, I won't kill him, I can't promise not to maim him though," Logan replied teasingly.

"You're sure you're okay with me going out tonight, Daddy?" Aubrey asked.

"Yeah, I am sure. Are you sure though?" Logan asked.

"Why, yes, I am," Aubrey said slowly. "I just wanted to make sure that you're sure, but we're both sure, so it's alright."

"Aubrey, you're babbling," Logan said with a smile. "Calm down, you're just going to a movie with friends, that's all it really is. And wow, I can't believe I actually just gave you advice."

"I can, you've always wanted what's best for me," Aubrey said softly.

Logan shook his head and said, "Well, I think I just heard a car pull up. You'd better go and grab your jacket and things."

Aubrey nodded and got up, annoyed with herself for not collecting her things earlier.

Logan walked into the hall, and hung around, waiting for the front door bell to ring.

Veronica snuck up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Be good. Don't scare him, too much."

"Ronnie, I may like to have a bit of fun from time to time, but I do know how to behave when the occasion calls for it," Logan said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. He was still a little irked with Veronica, she had repeatedly told him he needed to be mature about Aubrey dating, then she herself had plotted some adolescent prank on Madison Sinclair.

"Okay," Veronica said quietly. "Well, you can answer the door. I'll appear soon, just so you have enough time to scare him properly."

Logan nodded, and the doorbell rang.

He walked purposefully towards the front door and opened it.

Before him stood a brown haired, tanned guy, about six foot, and he was dressed simply, but expensively, in designer jeans, a shirt and a jacket.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Aubrey," Dan said, his voice shaking slightly. Clearly Logan's reputation preceded him, both as a protective father and a big Hollywood name.

"Do you have a name? I'm afraid I can't let my daughter go out with someone who's name I don't know," Logan told him seriously.

"Oh, I'm Dan, Dan Moss," Dan said.

"Well, Dan, Dan Moss, I think it would be good if we went over a few things quickly, before Aubrey appears. Actually, just one thing really. If you hurt her, I'll kill you, and I'll make sure they never find your body," Logan said in a deceptively cheerful voice.

"Yes, sir," Dan said, his eyes wide. "Got it."

"Good, now why don't you come on in?" Logan suggested.

Dan nodded and stepped inside, then Veronica appeared.

"Hi, I'm Aubrey's mom, Veronica," Veronica said pleasantly, quickly observing Dan's daunted face.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Echolls," Dan said quickly, careful to use his best parent manners, especially after his chat with Logan.

Just then Aubrey came down the stairs, her best, 'I am perfectly calm' look on her face.

"Hey Dan," Aubrey said with a charming smile.

Dan smiled back at her, admiring the pretty picture she made, with her long, blonde curls, her long, shapely legs and her stylish outfit. He stopped looking quickly though, mindful of Logan's watchful eyes.

"Hi Aubrey, you ready to go?" Dan asked.

"Yep. Bye Dad, by Mom, we'll be back by eleven thirty," Aubrey said.

"Eleven," Logan corrected. "Nice try, Aubrey."

Aubrey grinned and said, "Okay."

"Have a nice time. Say hi to Caroline for us," Veronica said. "Nice to meet you, Dan."

"You too," Dan said, before Aubrey almost dragged him out of the front door.

"So, do you feel like you've been run over by a truck?" Aubrey asked.

"No, not a truck. Maybe a motorbike," Dan decided. "No, I'm fine. Your dad just gave me a few warnings, and your mom was nice."

"Oh good," Aubrey said in relief.

"It's going to take more than a protective father to scare me off," Dan said seriously.

Aubrey's heart fluttered a little, and she shook herself for being so silly. She smiled at him with slightly starry eyes and said, "Well, I'm glad."

**AN: Thanks for reading :) As always, I like reviews :)**


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: Thanks everyone for the reviews :) Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 12**

Two weeks later, on Saturday afternoon, Veronica was racing around the house, busily making preparations for the dinner party.

She stuck her head into Aubrey's room and said, "Aubrey."

Aubrey paused her phone conversation and said, "Yes, Mom?"

"So, you'll be ready to go to Aunt Mac's by 5.00 won't you? I'll need you to help get the boys ready. Dad will drop you over then, okay?" Veronica said.

"Yes Mom, I know. Everything's under control, just calm down a little," Aubrey said, smiling.

Veronica gave her a brief smile. It was unlikely that she would be completely relaxed until the evening was well and truly over. Inviting Brandon and Madison over, to try and gain information on him, didn't seem like such a brilliant idea anymore. More like something you see in your nightmares.

Veronica disappeared from the room, and Aubrey returned to her phone call.

"So, are you still planning on going out tonight with Nathan tonight?" Aubrey asked.

Caroline had enjoyed her date with Brent, two weeks before, and their date the next week, but they'd both decided that two dates were enough, and Caroline had moved on to the next boy. Aubrey however was content to only date Dan, especially as he was taking her to Homecoming.

"Yes. I don't want to disobey Mom and Dad, but I'm not really. Mom just said they'd rather I didn't go out tonight, not when we're supposed to be looking after the younger ones. But you and James can take care of that," Caroline said. "I think Daddy was more annoyed at me wanting to go on another date, and with a different boy. But I mean really, what does he expect? He finally lets me date, and I'm going to want to stay home and keep saying no to guys who ask me out? I don't think so."

Aubrey smiled and Caroline's thought pattern and said, "Well, yes, I get that. I do kind of get that he might be annoyed at you have another date, and with a different guy. I don't think my dad would like that, in fact, I think he'd give me another lecture. Remember, the new talk said they wanted us to find special guys."

"Well, I'm going to have to give them each a try before I can figure out if they're special or not," Caroline retorted impishly. "So, you and Jamie won't mention tell on me, will you?"

"Of course not," Aubrey said loyally. "I mean, you should be back before your parents get home. And if you're not, then we know there's a problem anyway."

"You're the best!" Caroline exclaimed. "I totally owe you. Next time you want to sneak out, or say you're at mine when you're not, go for it. Tell me first though."

"Thanks," Aubrey said dryly. "I don't think I'd try it though. Your mom and my mom are too smart for that. The only way you're getting away with it tonight is because of the dinner thing."

"You're right. Well, it still stands, I'll cover for you next time you want me to, I'll even come up with the cover story," Caroline promised.

"Thanks Care," Aubrey said genuinely. Caroline and Aubrey were dissimilar in many ways, but they were both fiercely loyal, which was key to their friendship.

"Well, I should go shower, and stuff, you know the do the usual getting ready ritual. You know how long that takes," Caroline said.

"That I do," Aubrey agreed with a chuckle. "I'll see you in a bit."

The girls ended their call and Aubrey left her room to check that her siblings knew what they had to do to be ready to leave for the evening.

Downstairs Veronica was overseeing the preparations in the kitchen. Rosita, and an extra maid, were taking care of all the cooking. Veronica had was going over when dishes were to be served, and getting out the china that she wanted to be used.

Logan wandered into the kitchen, and attempted to snatch a bit of chicken out of a dish, but he was stopped by Rosita.

"No Mr Logan, that's for the dinner party tonight," Rosita reprimanded him.

"But Rosie, I paid for it all," Logan whined.

"And you can eat it tonight, Logan," Veronica said. "There are snacks in the cupboard, like always."

Logan wandered to the cupboard, and rummaged around until he found a box of Oreos.

"Ronnie, why are we using the good china for Madison Sinclair and Brandon Keating?" Logan asked between munches, disdain dripping from his tone when he said the names of their undesirable guests.

"Because the china is not for Madison and Brandon, but for Liam, who's birthday is it," Veronica explained dryly. "I know Madison is a completely lost cause, and it seems like Brandon is too, but we should give him one last chance. The real reason we don't like him is because Lily doesn't."

"Yeah, and she doesn't like him because he's pursued her for years, and she's been with Liam that whole time," Logan retorted.

"I know, and I agreed, he seems to be a jerk and a lost cause, but people use to think that about you too, so maybe we should just give him a fair go," Veronica countered, walking out of the kitchen.

Logan followed her, still munching on his Oreos.

"Why do you care so much?" Logan asked curiously.

Veronica paused, and thought. She was going to have to lie to Logan, and it would have to be plausible. She hated having to lie to Logan, but if she had to choose between more lives being lost, or lying to him to save those lives, she chose to lie, particularly in this instance.

"I guess, I see what he is, and I remember what you were, and I think that you could've ended up that way, and I can't help but think we could help him. You could help him, I could help him. Being around people like us, who try to live normally in abnormal circumstances. Maybes he's been given dozens of chances, maybe they weren't with the right people, maybe he didn't know how to take them, maybe we can help him," Veronica explained, hating her explanation. She was likening the monster that was Brandon Keating, to Logan, the love of her life. It made her a little sick, but she had to do it.

Logan's eyes softened and he said, "I see. Well, I'll give him a chance. That's all I can promise, but I'll think about what you said, okay?"

"Thank you," Veronica said gently. Well, she now had a reason to keep Brandon around, one that would probably keep Logan pacified.

"Ah, Sugarpus, if we're wanting to give him a chance, why are you siccing Madison on him?" Logan asked.

"Everyone deserves to be pranked every now and again," Veronica answered impishly. "Besides, if he is going to spend any time with us, he does need a punishment for giving Lily a hard time all these years."

Logan grinned and said in a British accent, "Right you are old chap. Jolly good stuff."

"Thank you Mr Theatrical," Veronica said with a chuckle. "Oh, don't forget that you're taking the kids to Dick and Mac's at five. So that's in an hour, okay?"

"I won't forget, you've only reminded me three times," Logan replied. "I'm going to go shower now."

"Have fun," Veronica said absently. She was busy running over details on the Keating case in preparation for the evening. It was tiring work, trying to remember to live her life as normal, without letting anything slip, but still completing her assignment.

"I'd have more fun if you came too," Logan said, walking up and wrapping his arms around her waist and nibbling on her ear.

"Mmm, Logan," Veronica said, sighing happily. "Oh, we can't do this now. Later."

"It's always later," Logan said sadly.

"Well, let's go away for a weekend soon," Veronica suggested.

"Yes! Excellent plan, I knew there was a reason I married you," Logan said playfully.

"And I thought it was for my charm, not my plotting skills," Veronica said sadly.

"No, it was because of that head tilt you do so well," Logan retorted.

"Ah, of course, the head tilt. No one can resist the head tilt," Veronica said understandingly.

"Yeah, I wanted to put something like that in my vows, but DK, and even Dick seemed to think it wasn't such a good idea," Logan told her.

"Really? Even Richard? Well, I must remember to thank him," Veronica said seriously. "Or maybe I'll just give him a free pass on the next unimaginably stupid thing he says."

"Yeah, I'd do that. I doubt he remembers the whole writing vows thing. The free pass will just make him think you like him a little," Logan said with a grin.

They both knew that Veronica did actually like Dick, well parts of him. She no longer hated him of course, she'd stopped hating him many years ago. He did infuriate her from time to time, but they got along well, and usually engaged in light and amusing banter.

"Well, go have your shower. I have things to finish before I dress for tonight," Veronica said, and with that, she disappeared into the lounge room.

An hour later Veronica had finished all the last minute preparations for the dinner, and Logan had just departed with the kids.

Veronica went quickly upstairs and dashed through the shower. She was expecting Mac and Dick at 5.30, and everyone else a little after that.

She went into her closet and pulled a knee length, navy blue dress out. It was a nice dress, but not overly showy. The dinner was not a formal one, so smart casual attire was all that was necessary.

In accordance, Logan had dressed in a pair of black trousers and a dark green button up shirt before he had left with the children.

Veronica quickly zipped herself into the dress, it had a V neck and short sleeves, and was not form fitting, but was cut so that it showed off the shape of her figure nicely. At fifty-one, and four children later, Veronica still had a very good figure.

Just as she'd slipped on a pair of heels, and finished with her hair and make up, the doorbell rang.

She walked downstairs quickly and to let Dick, Mac and Logan inside. They'd all left at the same time, after checking that everything was all alright with the kids.

"Eva and DK should be here soon, they were just arriving as we left," Logan told Veronica.

"Lily sent me a message to say that their sitter arrived, and they'll be here shortly," Veronica added.

"Right, well I'm going to go and get into the bar," Logan said. "Come on, Dick."

"Hey, I'm coming too," Mac remarked, following them. "I think we're all going to need at least one drink to survive tonight."

Veronica smiled, then sighed. Mac was, in a likelihood right.

Soon Duncan and Eva arrived, then Liam's parents, Alison and Mark Armistead, a friend of Liam's from college – Cameron Sheather, and his wife Melinda. Then came Chris and Sophie Tatlock, friends of Liam and Lily's from Neptune High. Chris had been one of Liam's closer friends, and he and Sophie had ended up getting married, and both couples had stayed close friends. Lily was still good friends with her friends from high school, but they were her friends, not Liam's, so they weren't invited. Wallace and Amanda were also not coming, they had gone away with the kids for the weekend, to Amanda's parents place Phoenix.

Liam and Lily then arrived, and Liam was spent some time speaking to everyone present, and being wished happy birthday.

While this was happening the bell rang again, meaning that either Brandon or Madison had arrived.

Veronica went and answered the door and let Brandon inside.

"Hi Brandon, thanks so much for coming," Veronica said warmly, playing her part of welcoming host to perfection.

"No worries," Brandon replied, stepping inside.

"Madison isn't here yet. She'd nearly always late, she's never been able to resist making a big entrance," Veronica said, as if it was something they all regarded with fondness. "So why do I introduce you to a few people?"

"Sure," Brandon said easily. "Is Lily here yet?"

"Yes, she and her **husband** just arrived and are talking to various people," Veronica said pointedly. "Remember, it's Liam's birthday."

"Ah, yes," Brandon said hurriedly.

"Yes, well, come with me," Veronica said.

She walked over to Logan, followed by Brandon.

"Logan, you remember Brandon Keating? Brandon, this is of course, my husband, Logan Echolls," Veronica said pleasantly.

"Glad to see you could make it," Logan said cordially. "We're sorry Madison isn't here yet."

"Veronica's already explained. Nice work on your last movie, by the way. I'm looking forward to the next one," Brandon said smoothly.

"Thank you," Logan said a little stiffly. He didn't like Hollywood schmoozing in Hollywood, let alone in his own home.

Veronica guided Brandon away then and said quietly, "Logan doesn't like to talk about work at gatherings like this."

"Oh, sure. I'll remember," Brandon replied.

Veronica walked over to where Sophie, Chris, Cameron and Melinda were standing.

"Brandon, this is Chris Tatlock and his wife, Sophie, they went to Neptune High with Lily and Liam. And this is Cameron Sheather, and his wife Melinda, Cameron is a friend of Liam's from college," Veronica informed him. "Everyone, this is Brandon Keating. He's agreed to be Madison's date, and she'd not here yet, so I'm just introducing him to everyone."

With that Veronica left him to talk to Chris, Sophie, Cameron and Melinda. She'd deliberately chosen to leave him with them, as they were the people of least wealth and fame in the room.

Just then the doorbell rang again, and Veronica moved to go back to answer it. On her way, she encountered Duncan in the hallway, returning from the bathroom. He looked a little grave.

"Everything alright Duncan?" Veronica asked gently, pausing to check on him.

"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking. You know, it's 35 years tomorrow since Lilly was murdered. Sometimes it feels like yesterday," Duncan explained.

"I know," Veronica said softly. "Sometimes I dream about her, and the old days, and wake up confused. But you know, we all made it through that awful time, and things are pretty good now. I'll never forget her, but I know she's glad we're happy."

"Yeah, I still miss her though, so much sometimes," Duncan said.

"Me too," Veronica agreed.

The doorbell rang again then, and several times in an indignant fashion.

"That'll be Madison," Duncan said with a grin.

"Yes, I was going to answer it before, but I forgot," Veronica replied. "She'd going to be livid."

"Isn't she always?" Duncan retorted. "Go on, go answer it. Good luck."

Veronica walked to the front door quickly, and opened it.

"Hi Madison," Veronica said as cheerfully as possible.

"Eugh, I forgot **you'd** be here," Madison said with disgust.

"Yes, well it is my house," Veronica explained.

"Where's Logan? Or Duncan? Is Brandon here yet?" Madison demanded.

"Yes, everyone's here," Veronica said. "It's actually almost time to go in for dinner."

Madison ignored Veronica and flounced off towards the noise of laughter and chatter.

She paused in the entranceway to the room and exclaimed, "Logan!"

Logan turned around, hiding his grimace. The rest of the room turned to look at Madison, her exclamation having caught their attention.

"That's Madison," Sophie said quietly to Brandon.

Brandon merely nodded, perusing Madison's appearance. Madison was dressed in a tight, short, pink dress. It was clearly meant for someone twenty years younger, but it obviously didn't phase Madison, and she didn't look awful in it really. She spent a lot of time and money making sure her figure was as good as she could force it to be. She was also coated in expensive jewellery, and her face was covered in make-up. She didn't look awful, if anything, a little gaudy, but Brandon chalked it up to her desire to impress him.

Meanwhile Madison had walked across to Logan, simpering the whole way.

"Hi Madison," Logan said indifferently. "Look, I actually have to go and speak to Mark Armistead, but you should go and meet Brandon."

"Just go up and introduce myself?" Madison asked indignantly. "I don't think so."

"I'll take you," Dick said, his eyes gleaming. "But Mad, you might want to avoid sounding so indignant around him, or bitchy, but shallow is probably alright."

"Why are you here?" Madison demanded. "Isn't indignant a bit of a big word for you Dick?"

"No, it's not my dear, repugnant, vapid, abhorrent, deplorable Maddy," Dick said, grinning, pleased with his vocabulary. He taken special care to study words to insult Madison, ones that she wouldn't understand.

"Fine, just introduce me to Brandon," Madison said grimly, tired of talking to Dick, and clearly not understanding his insults.

"Come along then," said Dick.

"Brandon," Dick began loudly, "this is Madison, my dear sister-in-law. Maddy, this is Brandon Keating."

"It's nice to meet you," Brandon said cordially. "I didn't know you were related to anyone here."

"I'm not really," Madison said dismissively. "It's nice to meet you Brandon," she added, pasting on her most alluring smile.

"Can I get you a drink?" Brandon offered.

"That'd be lovely," Madison said, smiling prettily.

They walked off to the bar together, and Dick rubbed his hands together delightedly.

"I think the show is about to start," Dick said cheerfully."

Sophie and Chris chuckled, while Cameron and Melinda looked a little confused.

The show was indeed about to begin.

**AN: Thanks for reading :) Reviews are always welcome!**


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I just wanted to get it out! (It took me like 3 weeks to write, curse writer's block!)**

**Thanks for your reviews, Angel, Nichole, Ali-cat and Mel! You guys are the best :)**

**Chapter 13**

"So why aren't you out with Dan tonight? Or are you onto another guy now too?" James asked Aubrey, as they sat in the kitchen, eating ice cream.

The other kids were all in the living room, watching a movie.

"Yes, I'm still with Dan. And well, one, he didn't ask me to go out tonight, and two, I was out with him the last two weekends, and three, I already had plans to be here," Aubrey answered.

"Well, Care could've used those reasons to stay here too, but she's out and we're covering for her," James retorted.

"Caroline and I are two different people. Besides, she's promised to pay us back, and you know she will. She's not doing any harm," Aubrey defended Caroline.

"I suppose," James agreed. "Come on, we'd better go in with the others, or Vi will be annoyed at being the only older one there."

Meanwhile, several streets away, Madison was sipping a glass of wine, and talking to Brandon.

"So, are you working on anything at the moment?" Madison asked with interest.

"No, I did have an offer, it was some low budget film, on the civil rights movement, and I'm not interested in that stuff," Brandon said with disdain.

Veronica's keen ears picked up on that detail as she was standing nearby, talking to Mac and Lily.

"So what are you doing now?" Madison asked.

"Taking a break, I have a few other business projects off to the side, some extracurriculars," Brandon replied.

"Oh, like what?" Madison asked. "I might be involved, or I might know people that are, I'm very involved in the social clubs here and in L.A."

"Yeah, just various social clubs," Brandon answered with a smile. "I don't think you'd be involved in them."

"Well, what are they like? Maybe I might like to be," Madison pressed, eager to show enthusiasm for whatever Brandon was currently interested in.

"Maybe another time," Brandon said, but not in a dismissive manner.

"Yeah, we could get lunch, you could tell me about whatever it is that you do," Madison suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Brandon said with some interest. Madison could be of use to him, she had money, and seemed to be the type of person who'd agree with his thoughts, but she didn't seem to be terribly subtle. He'd have to see how things panned out, but they were always looking for new, wealthy recruits.

Veronica listened to their interaction with interest. Maybe everything would be much simpler, like bugging Madison, and that would be easy enough.

"So, are you here because you and Logan are going to be working together on a movie?" Madison asked, still eager to find out about Brandon's current plans, and how she could fit into them.

"Not that I know of," Brandon said in amusement. "Of course I would be honoured to work on something of his, but no, I'm not. I'm here as your date."

"You're here as my date? I thought I was here," Madison began incredulously, but Veronica cut her off.

"Okay, I believe dinner is ready! If everyone wants to come this way," Veronica said, as she and Lily walked towards the dining room together.

"That was a close one, Aunt Ronica," Lily said, grinning. "I think you forgot to cover that aspect of your flawless plan."

"Oh well," Veronica said. "Madison will soon forget, she'll be too busy sucking up to Brandon."

"Gee Ronnie," Dick said, walking up next to her. "The table looks all fancy and nice. Celeste would be proud."

"Eww, don't say that," Veronica groaned. "I never, ever want to channel The Ice Queen. Besides, I'm pretty sure my table is more tasteful than pretentious and stuffy."

"Don't worry Veronica, it looks fine," Mac said comfortingly. "Ignore Dick, even I do sometimes."

Dick pretended to look hurt, then they all to their places at the once again extended dining table.

Back over at the Casablancas house James was pacing the kitchen.

"Where is Caroline?" James demanded.

"James, calm down, she's barely been gone an hour. They're having dinner, then seeing a movie. She'll be back by ten," Aubrey told him firmly. "You can freak out at ten thirty if need be."

"Fine," James huffed. "I hate having an older sister."

"No you don't," Aubrey corrected. "You hate having to be a protective brother, there's a difference between the two things."

"You like being right, don't you?" James asked ruefully.

"Well, yes, but I don't have anything to compare it to," Aubrey answered impishly.

"You're hilarious," James retorted dryly.

"Oh, I hear shrieks, and they don't sound happy," Aubrey said. "Fifty bucks says Ollie has pulled some prank on Aurora."

"Nah, my money's on Tom and Honey," James replied. "So, do you actually want to make a bet on it?"

"Sure, remember, I'm always right," Aubrey said, grinning.

Violet raced into the room and said, "Ah, I think you two had better get in there."

James and Aubrey nodded, and the three of them went quickly into the living room where the younger kids were still watching a movie.

Well, they were sort of watching a movie, that is, the movie was still playing, but the kids seemed more focused on their food fight.

James looked and Aubrey and they both sighed.

James stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, at the same time that Aubrey yelled, "Stop!"

The children all froze.

"What is going on here?" Aubrey asked.

"He threw a lolly at me," Carter began.

"She tipped popcorn on me," Ollie added.

"You put ice cubes down my back," Aurora retorted hotly.

"I believe you owe me fifty dollars James dear," Aubrey said sweetly, while James merely shook his head in reply.

"So, the rest of you thought you'd start a food fight, all because Ollie and Aurora had another argument?" Aubrey asked.

"That's about the size of it," Violet said, answering for them. "It was quite interesting to watch."

"Well, it's going to be quite interesting for them to clean up," Aubrey said grimly. "Go and get plastic bags to put the larger stuff in guys. Ollie, you're vacuuming. No buts!"

The kids trudged off, and James pulled Aurora off to the side.

"Rory, I know you didn't start any of that really, but you shouldn't have thrown popcorn on Ollie in revenge, so you have to help clean up too. Next time just come and get me or Aubrey," James instructed kindly.

"Okay, okay," Aurora agreed, walking off to join the clean up brigade.

"Wow, you handled that so well. Aunt Mac would be proud. Keep your fifty dollars," Aubrey said, in genuine admiration.

"Yeah, Mom's keen on diplomacy. Anyway, it doesn't matter if I give you the fifty, or keep it, we both have more than enough money anyway," James remarked.

"Ain't that the truth," Violet said, chiming in.

James grinned at her and Aubrey said, "You know, I've been thinking about that. We do have so much, I know Mom and Dad give to charities and attend fundraisers, but we should do something too."

"Go to fundraisers or something?" Violet asked.

The younger kids came back into the room then, armed with plastic bags, and Ollie was dragging the vacuum cleaner.

"Oh good, Aurora must've showed him where it lives," James remarked, noticing she'd got the appliance for him.

"No, I don't mean that," Aubrey continued. "Maybe we should volunteer at a soup kitchen or something. Money is easy for us to give, but time means something more."

"Okay," Violet agreed. "We can talk about it later, maybe when the vacuuming is done, or when Caroline gets back!"

James, Violet and Aubrey settled down to supervising the clean up, while Caroline was across town on her date.

Nathan pulled up out the front of the Neptune Hyatt.

"What are we doing here? I thought we were seeing a movie?" Caroline asked, with more confidence than she really felt.

"I thought we'd get a room for a bit," Nathan answered coolly.

"Well, that wasn't actually in my plans for tonight," Caroline answered with a laugh. "I could compromise and we could go makeout somewhere, in a dark street."

Nathan looked contemplatively at her and said slowly, "Well, I was actually planning on a little more than that tonight."

It was at this point that Caroline started to feel more than a little nervous.

Meanwhile back at the Echolls' the dessert was just coming out.

"Eugh, my champagne is cold," Madison said, standing up in disgust.

"Sit down, Maddy," Dick ordered tiredly. He tended to take the role of 'parenting' Madison, after all, he didn't care what she thought of him, and he'd been use to her hating him for years.

"You can't tell me what you do, Dick," Madison said haughtily. "I'm going to find that maid and watch her get me new, cold champagne."

The rest of the guests were watching on, some disgusted with Madison, but use to her behaviour. Others who had not met her before watched in astonishment.

Brandon watched with mild interest, but he was use to Hollywood stars and starlets who behaved like obnoxious divas, so he wasn't overly bothered. Besides, warm champagne was awful stuff.

Madison stood and walked quickly towards the kitchen, class of champagne in hand. As she stalked her heels clacked on the floorboards.

Just as she reached the doorway of the room, 'that maid', Rosita appeared, carrying a large, chocolate cake.

As if in slow motion, Madison, Rosita and the chocolate cake all collided.

The chocolate cake flew into Madison, coating her with chocolate frosting. Her 'warm' champagne also managed to land on her, before the flute went crashing to the ground, along with the glass platter that the cake had been on.

Rosita looked absolutely horrified, especially after she saw the look of complete rage on Madison's face.

Nearly everyone in the room looked absolutely horrified, all except the ever incorrigible Dick and Logan. They looked completely delighted at the turn of events, dessert be damned. Madison coated in frosting was much better than a cake covered in frosting.

"You. Will. Pay. For. That," Madison said, her tone dripping with icy cool rage.

"I am so sorry," Rosita said quickly. "Come with me, and I'll help clean you up."

"I think not," Madison said rudely, wiping bits of cake off her expensive dress.

At that point Veronica stood, unsure of whether to laugh or wash her hands of the whole thing. Instead she said, "No, come with me Madison. I'll help you."

"Help me?" Madison asked a little manically. "You planned this, Veronica Mars, I know you did!"

At this, Logan and Dick could not contain their mirth anymore and started howling with laughter. Soon the whole table followed suit, needing an outlet for the tension they were all feeling.

Madison shrieked with rage, the stomped from the room, little bits of cake flying off her as she walked.

Veronica hurried after her, trying to give Logan a reproachful look, but failing.

"Madison, please wait," Veronica said, in what she hoped was a soothing tone.

Madison halted just before the front door, turned, sneered and said, "Why, do you want to humiliate me some more?"

"No, I really don't Madison. I truly didn't plan that, and I'm so sorry it happened," Veronica said sincerely. "Won't you get cleaned up and stay? I'm sure Brandon would like it if you stayed."

"He saw me get covered in chocolate cake, I doubt he's going to want to see me again," Madison said severely.

"I don't know Madison. He seemed to like you. If you came back, it would show what a good sport you are," Veronica said, practically choking over her cajoling words.

"Fine," Madison agreed ungraciously. Veronica's words had worked, for Madison very much wanted Brandon to like her. There was nothing like the allure of fame and power for Madison.

"Your dress is ruined," Veronica said apologetically. "You must let Logan and me reimburse you, but for now, I should be able to find something you could wear."

Thirty horrible minutes later, Veronica and Madison reappeared in the dining room where the other guests were just finishing bowls of ice cream. Madison was wear a shirt and skirt of Veronica's. The skirt was an alright fit, but the blouse fairly pulled across her chest, but it was the best they could do.

Everyone else around the dinner table had decided to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and they resumed talking as normal.

"I'm so sorry about that," Madison said quietly to Brandon. "I don't normally act like that, but it's always a nasty shock to have cake spilt on you."

"You've had cake spilled on you before?" Brandon asked lightly, accepting her rather sort of apology.

"No, not cake, but definitely drinks," Madison admitted with some chagrin. "College was fun like that."

On the subject of fun, it was something that Caroline was not having anymore.

In the end she and Nathan had agreed that their idea of a date was different, so they had decided to cut their date short.

Caroline got out of Nathan's car, said goodbye as charmingly as was possible, then stormed up the path, to her front door.

She let herself in, then slammed the door.

"What a **jerk**," Caroline shrieked.

The slamming door sent Violet, James and Aubrey all towards the front door quickly.

"Oh, it's just you Care," James said in relief.

Aubrey however knew that her arrival wasn't something casual, not when she was an hour early, and clearly in a bad mood.

"What happened Care?" Aubrey asked in concern.

"That jackass and I have different definitions of what a first date involves," Caroline huffed.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" James asked, suddenly alert.

"No, no. He's not a criminal, just a dick," Caroline said with irritation. "I'm fine, just insulted and annoyed more than anything. You don't need to fight him or anything."

James didn't look convinced, but let it slide.

"Oh well. There will be other boys," Caroline said, her spirits picking up. "At least I'm back before mum and dad. It's like I was hardly gone. Did I miss anything here?"

"Just a food fight, started by Ollie dropping an ice cube down Aurora's back," Violet answered serenely.

"I bet they're having an interesting time over at our house," Aubrey remarked. "But probably without food fights."

**AN: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. I love getting your reviews :)**


	15. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Hey everyone, sorry that I haven't updated in a few weeks, and I'm even more sorry to let you know that this story is now on hiatus.

I'm really sorry about the extended delay, I've just too much going on now, and limited enthusiasm for this story.

In saying that I will finish this story, I like what I have planned for it.

Again, sorry for the delay, and thanks for your support by reading this story, especially those of you who have reviewed every chapter! (Angel, Nichole, Ali-cat, that's you!) Of course, thanks to all the others who've reviewed at any point :)


	16. Chapter 14

**AN: I'm back! Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year for five days time! I finally wrote this chapter, and I have the next one fully planned, so there won't be more than a week until the next chapter :) Thanks SO much for all your patience, and your reviews. Enjoy! (And please forgive any errors and typos)**

**Chapter 14**

"I can't believe I missed Aunt Madison getting covered in chocolate cake and champagne," Aubrey moaned, as she and Veronica walked along the beach together the next morning.

"I think your father surreptitiously took a photo," Veronica told her with a grin.

"I bet he did! I wish he had videoed it, I'm sure she was hysterical," Aubrey said with a chuckle.

"She was hysterical," Veronica said grimly. "And would you believe it, I heard that Brandon Keating asking her out for coffee next week. I mean, Madison can please where she wants to please, but she was pretty rude last night, even for Madison. She wasn't rude to Brandon though, so I guess he doesn't care."

"Why don't you like Brandon Keating, Mom? I mean, he's pretty dreamy on _General Hospital_," Aubrey asked curiously.

"Maybe he is 'pretty dreamy' on it, but he's not very 'dreamy' in real life. Haven't I told you that when he moved here he started pursuing your Aunt Lily, and wouldn't leave her alone. He was pretty pushy, even when she told him to leave her alone. Plus, he's a bit of an ass. But sure I've told you this before?" Veronica explained to her daughter.

"I've never asked, I mean I've wondered over the years, when I've heard you and Aunt Lily make comments, but I had just never asked," Aubrey replied. "I guess those things make him sound pretty unlikable."

"Very unlikable, the snake," Veronica muttered to herself. "So, seeing as this is mother/daughter time, it's about time I ask how things are with Dan?"

"Same as the last time you asked, they're good. He's nice, still hot, and he's not rushing things, and neither am I," Aubrey answered seriously, a smile ghosting her lips. "And you can pass that along to Dad too. I know he wants to know, but he's too scared to ask. It's so funny, and sad in a way too. Daddy's never been scared of anything, especially the truth, and he was always straightforward with those years of lectures…but now that I actually have a boyfriend, he's scared to death."

Veronica reached across and grabbed Aubrey's hand in hers.

"Sweetie, it's because your dad loves you so much that he's scared to death. I know you know that, and I know it's hard to cope with him in this phase, but that's all it is, a phase. Maybe you should talk to him, tell him how you're feeling. I can tell him, but it will make more of an impact coming from you," Veronica suggested gently.

"I might do that," Aubrey agreed. "So, do you have any new cases at work that are interesting? Need any help snooping?"

Part of Veronica enjoyed that fact that her daughter had an interest in private detective work, and the other part of her didn't want Aubrey to have any involvement in such a potentially dangerous industry.

She knew though, from experience, that it was no good forcing someone not to have an interest in something. It was much safer and simpler to nurture Aubrey's interest, but to manage it so that that was all it was, an interest, not a passion.

"I'm actually alright for help at the moment, but thanks for offering," Veronica said. "But if you have any ideas of Violet wants for her birthday, that would be good."

"A pony," Aubrey said impishly, being very familiar with Veronica's old desire for a pony. "But seriously Mom, I'll try to find out, her birthday is in like, ten days after all. And it's Carter's birthday the day after that. It's nice that we'll all be in Napa for fall break then. Now, come on, tell me, are you working on any interesting cases at the moment."

Veronica studied her daughter's eager face, and quickly decided that she would tell her about her current interesting case. No specific details, but just enough so that she wouldn't burst with the secrecy of her FBI assignment.

"Well," she began slowly. "I am actually working on a new case. I've done a bit of work for the client before, back when I wasn't living in Neptune. Anyway, they've got a special case they need me for. It's pretty interesting, but nothing too risky."

"Can you tell me anything else?" Aubrey implored.

"I can't," Veronica said firmly but gently. "You know I can't, for everybody's sakes, especially yours. I've told you more than I'm supposed to anyway."

"Does Daddy know about your case?" Aubrey asked.

"No," Veronica replied, quickly seeing the error in her judgement. The pressure of working on the Keating Case had led her to foolishly potentially compromising her cover, all because she'd shared a few vague details with Aubrey. Maybe she was getting too old for something like this. Whatever the case, she needed to pick up the pieces, and quickly.

"Dad doesn't know, mainly because we'd talked about me taking a step back at work, and I picked this case up after we'd agreed on that. I have dropped a few other cases, and I'm not taking any others at the moment to make up for it, but it would be better if you didn't mention this case to him. Is that alright? I don't want you to feel like I'm putting you in the middle."

Aubrey nodded, accepting Veronica's explanation. She had witnessed the highs and lows of Veronica and Logan's relationship over the years as she'd grown up. There were far more highs than lows, but when the lows came they were often fierce, and if obeying her mother would avoid unnecessary conflict, she'd do it.

"Sure, Mom," Aubrey said, adding verbal agreement to the nod of her head. "Oh, are we driving up to Napa on next Sunday morning or afternoon?"

"The afternoon, we know you and Caroline will be tired after Homecoming," Veronica answered.

"Justin too," Aubrey added.

"Who is he going with? One of your cheerleader friends?" Veronica guessed, remembering the way Justin had been checking out the girls at the game.

"Yeah, Caroline and I set him up with Abby. I think he'd just kind of presumed he and I would go together, because of Dad, but then Dan asked me, so Caroline and I figured we'd have to sort something out for Justin, we don't want him to be all alone," Aubrey explained.

"Isn't that micromanaging?" Veronica asked in amusement. "Justin is rather like Wallace, and Wallace was usually capable of securing his own dates."

"Justin just doesn't seem to want to date anyone," Aubrey retorted. "So Caroline and I try to find girls he likes, but he's not interested. We almost thought he might be gay, expect for the fact that he **does** check girls out."

At that point a little light blub flashed on in Veronica's mind. What had started out as girl talk had given her a sudden revelation. She knew exactly what was going on with Justin, and she didn't see that there was anything she could do about it, but let the situation play out as it would.

"Well, let me know if you figure it out," Veronica said to Aubrey, finishing their conversation.

The pair had just arrived back at their house and walked up from the beach and on to the deck and inside.

Violet pounced on Aubrey as she walked inside.

"Come on! Caroline just called and said she'll be here to pick us up in ten minutes," Violet told Aubrey excitedly.

"Crap!" Aubrey exclaimed, dashing upstairs to change out of her sandy, walking clothes.

Seven minutes later she was freshly changed into a pair of snug designer jeans, a light sweater and tan thigh high boots.

"Have you got enough money?" Logan asked Aubrey, knowing an extensive shopping trip was about to ensue.

"I think I'm good Dad, I've probably got just enough…to buy a small third world country," Aubrey teased truthfully.

"Well don't spend it all," Logan warned unnecessarily. "Oh, and Aub? Please try not to buy something that will give me a heart attack. And try to rein Caroline in too. We're going to Uncle Dick and Aunt Mac's this afternoon, so Caroline can just bring you and Violet back there when you finish shopping. If you're both lucky, Uncle Dick and I will have had a few beers."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, Daddy, that's just Sunday afternoon for you two," Aubrey joked.

Caroline pulled up and honked, Aubrey kissed Logan goodbye, as did Violet who raced over, then the two headed out the door to leave with Caroline.

Veronica walked over to Logan and leaned into him, slipping an arm round his waist.

"Look at them, they're getting so grown up. Aubrey is dating, and Violet will be soon too," Logan said sadly. "I'm proud of them, proud of who they're becoming, and I'm even proud of how beautiful they are, even if it is a nuisance at times. I just wish they didn't have to grow up. I would give almost anything to just hold my little babies one more time."

"I know," Veronica agreed with a sigh, for once allowing herself to try to hold onto the past with Logan. "At least Tom and Ollie will still be young for a while."

"We'll need them, to keep us young. I never use to wake up tired, but occasionally there are mornings where I realise that I'm not 25 or 30 anymore. I wouldn't trade our kids or our marriage for anything, but there are days when I wish we'd started a little earlier," Logan said musingly.

"And you weren't even the one who carried a child at 40 **and** 41," Veronica reminded him pointedly.

"But I made up for it with all the midnight trips for ice cream that I made. I swear Sugarpus, the amount of ice cream you could eat when you were pregnant was astounding. You think it would show by now, but you're still as hot as you were at nineteen," Logan said, kissing her fondly.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, but not until tonight," Veronica promised, returning his kiss. "For now, I think it would be good if you got the boys into their wetsuits and took them out for a surf. Actually, no. Get the surfing gear and we'll head to Mac and Dick's early, you can make Dick and James surf with you while Mac, Rory and I do girly things."

"As long as those girly things include organising pizza and alcohol for dinner," Logan agreed. "I really need something like pizza after last night. Don't get me wrong, that was a hell of a dinner you pulled off, but I just need something friendly like pizza."

"You really don't have to explain that Logan, but it's sweet that you did," Veronica told him with a tender smile. "Now go make sure the gear is ready, and I'll find the boys, and we can go."

Logan headed off to collect the surfing gear and Veronica went to find her sons.

"Oliver, Tom," Veronica began as she walked into the TV room where the boys were playing a video game. "Change of plans boys, we're going over to Aunt Mac and Uncle Dick's now. Dad's taking you surfing."

"It's kind of cold out, Mom," Tom protested. "And I don't feel like surfing today, I got dumped real bad last time."

"That's why you have a wetsuit, Tom, to keep you warm," Veronica pointed out.

"And I got dumped last time, too," Oliver added. "But it's just like Dad says, if you don't practice, you won't get better."

"Fine, fine," Tom grumbled. "But I want hot chocolate afterwards, with marshmallows."

Veronica chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Sure thing, boyo. Just go and get ready."

The boys raced off, out of the room, down the hall, then up the stairs.

Veronica listened to the clatter of their feet with a smile. In moments such as those it was very easy to forget Brandon Keating, to forget the FBI, to forget her job, to forget everything but enjoying being Veronica Echolls, wife and mother. Naturally, this train of thought quickly began to horrify Veronica.

"What am I? Some idiot who's been brain washed to obey the ways of a 1950s housewife?" Veronica muttered out loud.

Veronica pulled out her phone, dialled a number and waited.

"Hello Veronica," Mac said. "What's up?"

"Hey Q, not much. Just wanted to let you know we're coming early. If you're busy I'll just blend into the furniture while the boys surf. I have some work I can do too. Actually, speaking of work, did you managed to get the info I needed for the Delabosca case?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, I was going to give it to you Monday," Mac replied. "I figured a dinner party with Madison was more than enough for anyone to have to deal with on one weekend, let alone working too."

_You're telling me_, Veronica thought wryly. She **had** been working, practically all Saturday, and what made it even harder was that no one knew.

"Okay, well, you can give it to me today, it'll save you the trip tomorrow," Veronica decided. "Anyway, we'll see you in ten minutes."

Across town Lily and Liam pulled up out the front of the Mars'.

"Are you going to be good for Grandpa Mars and Grandma Alicia?" Lily asked, as she walked across the lawn holding Dylan's hand.

Liam followed, holding Maegan in his arms.

"Yes! And I will get to play with Tyler's transformers!" Dylan exclaimed excitedly. Tyler always obliged the little boy by playing with him, and consequently Dylan worshipped him, and his toys.

Lily turned around to look at her husband and daughter and said, "And how about you cutie? Are you going to have fun while Mommy's is out? You always have fun here."

"Pway dollies," Maegan announced.

"And dress ups," Liam suggested, kissing the little girl's forehead.

Lily rang the doorbell, and Amanda opened the door.

"Hey Grandma Alicia, thanks for letting taking the kids and letting us intrude on your quiet Sunday," Lily said, greeting Alicia.

"Lily Armistead, don't be stupid, you are family," Alicia scolded her. "Besides, those two are no trouble. It's easy having them here, especially because Maegan is getting use to being here."

"But really, thanks Alicia, it means a lot not to have to worry about them while we're out for dinner tonight," Liam added.

"And from what I heard about last night, you two need a relaxing evening out," Keith remarked with a chuckle, appearing over Alicia's shoulder.

"A dinner party at the Echolls' is always lively," Liam said with a wry smile. "Plus, it's certainly a birthday cake I'll never forget."

The adults chuckled, then Liam and Lily settled their kids in, and headed off.

"So where are you taking me?" Liam asked, as Lily climbed into the driver's seat.

"It's a surprise, but you'll like it. We'll be alone, it'll be peaceful and beautiful. The perfect birthday dinner for a young couple with toddlers," Lily said brightly. "And most importantly, I might be wearing a 'special garment'."

"In case I haven't told you today," Liam began softly. "I love you, always."

Meanwhile, in town, Madison Sinclair was sitting in an exclusive beauty parlour, having a mani-pedi, Carrie Bishop on one side and Shelly Pomroy on the other.

"So, Brandon Keating, asked **you**, out?" Carrie asked incredulously.

"Just for coffee, for now," Madison said in a conniving tone. "But we really hit it off, we seemed to have a lot of common ground, and I think he's going to invite me to this exclusive Hollywood group he's involved with."

"Brandon Keating is a famous actor and you think he's interested in you?" Shelly queried dubiously.

"Um, yes! You two are supposed to be my friends, is it that hard to believe that someone like Brandon would like me?" Madison asked haughtily.

"I'm sure he's interested in you," Carrie said soothingly. "I'm sure he knows you have money, so you might fit in more easily in his world, especially in some sort of club."

"Exactly," Madison pronounced. "Anyway, we're having coffee on Wednesday, and all going to play, he'll ask me to have dinner with him on Saturday."

"You'll have to tell us about it," Shelly said, a little tiredly. "Anyway, I think my nails are dry, and Julie is at home for the weekend from college, and she brought her new boyfriend. I need to go and suffer through dinner with him before they leave. See you both later."

Shelly left, as did Carrie and Madison not too much later.

By this time Caroline, Aubrey and Violet had just returned from their shopping trip and had pulled up in the Casablancas driveway.

"I think Daddy will like your dress, Aub, it's pretty modest," Violet told her sister. "Uncle Dick might not even kill you over your dress Care."

"Daddy would never kill me," Caroline said with a confident laugh. "And besides, this dress is tame compared to a couple of the ones I thought of buying, particularly that one with the cut-outs and plunging neckline."

"So true," Aubrey agreed. "I can't wait to watch Mom try to care what my shoes are like. With her shoes are a necessity, it's okay for them to be nice as well as useful, but you're not supposed to fall in love with shoes. We really need Aunt Lily to look at our things."

"So we'll show her one day after school this week," Caroline said carelessly. "At least Aunt Ronica will try to care about your shoes, Mom just says, 'Well don't break your ankle Caroline.'. I know Mom loves me, and she takes the best care of me, but I wish she cared about clothes!"

The girls went inside to where they found their mothers, both with margaritas in hand, and paperwork on the table.

"You're mixing work and pleasure?" Caroline asked in shock.

"Don't be silly Caroline, it's always a pleasure working with your mom," Veronica told her. "We don't need alcohol for it to be fun. The alcohol is to help us cope with thinking about last night's dinner party, and dreading the amount of money you three will have spent this afternoon."

Violet and Aubrey grinned sheepishly, but Caroline was unperturbed.

"So, can we show you what we bought?" Aubrey asked. "I really think you'll like my dress, Mom."

"I think you'll like my dress too," Violet added.

Veronica looked at her curiously. "But you're not going to the dance, Vi."

"I know, I just bought a new dress," Violet said with a grin.

"Come on, let's try our dresses on," Caroline decided. "We'll be back soon to show you both."

Fifteen minutes later heels could be heard clicking down the stairs from Caroline's room.

The girls appeared, Aubrey dressed in a floor length red dress, Caroline in a shimmery gold floor length dress and Violet in a casual, pale purple floaty dress.

Veronica and Mac inspected their daughters closely.

Aubrey's red dress was a one shouldered, cotton-macramé lace Valentino creation, fitted at the bodice, then it fell gracefully to the floor. On her feet she was wearing a pair of classic nude heels.

Caroline's gold Kaufmanfranco was strapless, and hugged her body in all the right places to emphasise her fully developed figure. It didn't show a lot of skin, but it didn't leave much to the imagination. Her feet were encased in strappy, red heels.

Violet had merely changed out of her skirt and blouse, and replaced them with the purple Issa dress. It was simple and pretty, very suitable for an almost twelve year old.

"Violet, that's a very pretty dress darling," Veronica began, targeting the easiest subject first. "Aubrey, your dress is lovely, but you just look so grown up in it. It's rather startling for me. Are you sure you wouldn't rather perhaps a knee length dress? Something like that would be less adult."

"I really want this one, Mom. It's my first high school dress, and you know how 09er girls dress at Neptune," Aubrey pointed out. "You know the dress is modest, it's simple and elegant. Even if I look grown up in it, I'm still your daughter, and I promise to turn cartwheels around the house in tiny shorts like normal."

"Well, okay. You can wear it, if your father agrees too," Veronica said heavily.

Violet had been watching her mother talk to Aubrey, and when they finished the three Echolls females turned to look at Caroline and Mac, both of whom were conspicuously quiet.

Mac was perusing critically, and Caroline was standing there in silence, taking it with good grace.

"Well?" Caroline eventually asked.

"Well, there's no cleavage, and it's not short," Mac managed to choke out. "But Caroline, it's still very…very something."

"Provocative?" James supplied, appearing in the doorway. "Every guy there will be looking at your ass."

"James! Language!" Mac scolded.

"Sorry, butt," James amended.

"Guys look at my butt in whatever I wear. I'd have to wear a sack if I wanted them to look elsewhere," Caroline pointed out pertly. "So maybe the jackass guys of Neptune should develop manners."

"And I've told you that will never happen," Dick said, walking into the room and joining the conversation. "That's why you can't wear things like that, and I think a sack would make a great outfit for you Princess."

"But Daddy," Caroline pleaded. "Please don't make me wear some ugly dress. I have to look fabulous, I'm Caroline Casablancas. If I look anything less than amazing it will be a disaster. That dress is the dress I want to wear, it covers all my skin, except from my shoulders, neck, face and arms, please let me wear it."

Dick looked critically at his daughter and at the dress.

"Please Daddy, let me wear it, you know they'll look at me no matter what," Caroline reiterated.

"Ah, the rare, valid point," Logan commented sardonically, naturally being drawn into the conversation. "Dude, you know she is right this time. We'd be better off shooting any guy that looks at her, or Aubrey."

"Great, great plan. We can't use real guns, but I'm sure water pistols filled with something gross would do," Dick said, excited at the idea. "Let's go find the kids water pistols, now."

Logan and Dick left, but James stayed to see his sister win yet another parental battle.

"So, I can wear it?" Caroline asked in clarification.

"Yes," Mac said with a sigh. "Just let me say this though. I'm not hard on you like this because it's fun, it's because I want the best for you, in every way."

"I know Mom," Caroline said, walking over and placing a rare, adoring kiss on her mother's cheek. "I love you."

Mac fairly beamed with happiness, and settled back into the couch as the girls left to change.

James followed the girls, tugging on one of Violet's curls playfully.

"In moments like those, I know we're doing something right," Mac said in relief.

Veronica nodded, hoping that her choice to work with the FBI was something right, and that it wouldn't cause problems for her family. She sent up a quick prayer to that affect, deciding that hoping just wasn't enough.

**AN: I really hope you enjoyed that, please let me know! I love receiving your reviews :)**


	17. Chapter 15

**AN: Thanks for your reviews everyone! I'm really getting back into this story, so much so I'm neglecting my other fic, oops. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)**

**Chapter 15**

Aubrey nestled into her seat in the family car, a BMW X5 SUV, on their way to Napa the next Sunday. The night before, the Homecoming dance, have been a great night, and had fully lived up to her expectations. She had been nominated to the Homecoming Court, quite an honour for a freshman, though it wasn't a big surprise, seeing as she was the daughter of Logan Echolls, and not to mention Veronica Mars for that matter.

Caroline had been nominated for the Court as well, and both girls had looked particularly beautiful. Neither of them was crowned queen though, that honour went to Mia Faulkner's younger sister, Ellie. Mia had been in Lily's class at Neptune High, and like Mia, Ellie was very beautiful. Ellie was a senior, and when she graduated at the end of the year Caroline and Aubrey would be really the only options for the becoming the new queen of the 09ers. Both girls knew this, and weren't planning to make a big deal of it. Violet, Aurora and Honey would all arrive at Neptune High at some point and there would be no sense in just one of them being 'queen'.

Not being crowned Homecoming Queen had not put a dampener of the evening for Caroline or Aubrey in the slightest. Aubrey had enjoyed every dance with Dan, especially the slow ones where he pressed occasional, gentle kisses to her forehead and lips. Caroline had also enjoyed her dancing, though she didn't just dance with her date, Mitch Webber. No, Caroline danced with many guys and danced as one filled with life and excitement.

When the limo had dropped Aubrey home after the after party, Dan had walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight, gently at first, the a little more thoroughly, and it had left Aubrey's heart racing.

"You're lucky my dad's asleep now," she had whispered breathlessly to him.

"I'm sure he has CCTV installed or something," Dan said dryly.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure there is for security," Aubrey said, smothering a giggle. "But I'm sure it's only checked if there's an actual security breach."

"Still, that's the last time I'm kissing you anywhere near your house or your dad," Dan said fervently. "And now, I should go and let you go to bed, you have a long drive tomorrow."

"Night, Dan," Aubrey had said softly.

"Night Aub," he had replied.

Then he had left, and Aubrey had gone straight to bed, floating on cloud nine.

Aubrey smiled happily as she relived her favourite moments of the evening before, all the while the car carrying the Echolls moved ever closer to Napa.

"Hey, Dakota says she brought her whole collection of Hemsworth movies," Violet said to Aubrey, looking up from her phone to her sister.

Aubrey grinned at Violet and before she could reply Veronica said, "You won't be able to watch all of those, you know. The whole point of going to the house in Napa is to do different things there. Enjoy the outdoors, ride the horses, go cycling, play board games, go for walks. And yes, I know how delicious the Hemsworth boys are, and there will be time for you to watch them parade across the TV for several hours too."

"Yes, Mom, we know," Aubrey and Violet chorused, use to the talk they got about how they were to spend their time at Napa.

The miles flew by, and soon enough the collection of vehicle from Neptune arrived at the Napa vineyard and homestead.

Originally the property had been sufficient to house them all when they visited en masse, but as more and more children were born the existing house was not adequate, massive though it was. So Mac and Logan had arranged for another wing to be built on, matching exactly the style of the existing building.

The Armisteads and the Fennels usually occupied the new wing, but as the children got older they switched rooms as they pleased, and generally participated in a lot of sleepovers. These usually took place in the older section of the house, the Armisteads still occupied the new wing, and it was good for it to be quieter so that Maegan and Dylan could sleep peacefully.

The children poured out of the cars, and went their various ways, some to check the stables, others to check in the house. By the time an hour was out the cars were unpacked, rooms were set up, and the children had confirmed that everything was as they had left it since their last visit.

"Can you imagine if they ran in one day and found the gaming systems gone?" Mac asked with a smirk to Veronica. "It would be priceless to play that joke on them."

"Pranking never gets old," Veronica agreed. "But I doubt we could get away with that prank. It would just be a bother to return the things to the kids once their initial panic was over. You know Logan, Dick, Duncan and Wallace could never survive a holiday without some good 3D car racing games."

"I can add that Liam would perish at the thought as well," Lily said, coming up with Maegan in her arms.

"Her hair is getting so long, she looks so much older," Veronica said wistfully, stroking the little girls hair. "Seeing her grow up is almost like what seeing you grow up would've been like."

"Duncan says Maegan's just like Lily was," Eva agreed.

Maegan reached out her arms for her grandma. It had been very bizarre Eva to become a grandmother at the tender age of 40, especially as her own children were merely 8 and 6 at the time. She had of course embraced her new role, and loved both Dylan and Maegan dearly.

"Well, I'm going to go and call for pizza," Veronica announced. "It is tradition, mainly because it's so easy."

"And because those kids, and the guys, are never happier than when they're eating pizza," Amanda added playfully.

"And don't forget Veronica, she loves pizza," Mac teased.

"Aunt Ronica loves all food," Lily joked truthfully.

"Yeah, yeah, you're all comedians. Oh, by the way, I just wanted to let you all know that I had to bring a little work with me to do over the week, just for a couple of evenings. The rest of the time I'll be free to do whatever," Veronica announced casually.

"Sure, I'm sure we might all enjoy some quiet, alone time a couple of evenings," Eva replied. "I have a couple of books I'm longing to read."

Veronica left to find a quiet space to order pizza, and following that the evening unfolded uneventfully, a merciful thing when the Echolls, and indeed all their family friends, where around.

The next day was unseasonably warm, so following a long trail ride, the children, and most of the adults swam in the heated outdoor pool. The weather on it's own wasn't really swimming weather, but the pool was heated well enough to make swimming enjoyable practically all the year round. In the dead of winter it could be made to feel practically as warm as a spa bath, the only probably was when one wanted to transfer from the warm water to the house. There was a lot of icy air to contend with.

Tuesday morning found the entire group making their way to the Napa Downtown Farmers' Market. The spent the entire forenoon wandering around, looking at the abundance of fresh produce, perusing other various stalls, including hand crafted vintage style jewellery, photography and artwork.

They returned home, with their purchases, including a selection of brightly coloured dahlias, honey, freshly baked bread, olive oil, beef, chicken, lamb, apples, stone fruit, berries and mixed vegetables.

"Mac," Dick began in a whiney tone to his wife. "Mackie, why did you and Ronnie have to buy so much fresh, healthy stuff."

'Healthy' was said in a tone that one might use to say 'leprosy' or 'rotting corpse'.

"Because it's good for you, and it's nice to cook good things we when have the time when we're on holidays," Mac replied.

"Plus, we don't want your beer gut getting any bigger," Veronica said in a teasingly condescending tone, patting Dick's nonexistent beer gut.

Dick looked down at his fairly flat, and almost still toned stomach in horror.

"I'm not getting fat! Mackie I'm not fat. Tell her I'm not fat!" Dick exclaimed.

Mac chortled, patted Dick comfortingly on the head, then started putting things away in the large fridge.

The day has been an unseasonably cool one, a complete opposite to the weather of the day before. Shorts and swimmers had been exchanged for jeans, scarves and warm jackets. So as it got later into the afternoon, the fire was turned on, and the women set about making hearty soup, from the food they had brought home that morning.

Eva took a long sip of her glass of wine, then continued to chop the carrots.

Duncan came into the kitchen, kissed Lily on the cheek, then put his arms around his wife.

"Mmm, something smells good," Duncan said appreciatively.

"Nothing's cooking yet, Donut," Veronica pointed out affectionately.

"Yeah, but I can just tell it will smell good," Duncan retorted easily.

"Do we have any garlic bread to go with it, to ease the pain of it being so healthy?" Dick asked tragically, still not overly fond of the abundance of nutritious food, even though he stole a piece of celery from the board Mac was chopping on.

"Yes, there will be bread, but fresh grain bread, with butter," Mac compromised. "Now get out of our kitchen unless you're going to help."

Dick scurried away, and Duncan followed suit, not wanting to be roped into kitchen work, one because he was terrible at it, even after years with Eva, and two, because he hated it.

"Look at them go," Lily chuckled. "Daddy will always hate kitchen work."

"And Dick will always hate any work," Veronica joked.

"I don't hate work," Aubrey announced, joining the women in the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can help me with the apple pies I'm making," Lily told her. "Grab a peeler and start peeling."

"So, why are you here helping us, instead of upstairs giggling with Caroline?" Mac asked.

"She's in the middle of a very realistic 'love life' quiz in one of our favourite trashy magazines. I got tired of my book, so I came down here," Aubrey replied.

"That's my Caroline," Mac said, with wry fondness.

Across the table, Veronica was busy chopping onions. She had smiled at her daughter upon her entrance, but returned to chopping almost straight away.

Lily looked at Veronica, then looked conspiratorially at Aubrey. She nodded at her glass of white wine, then mouthed, "Have a sip."

Aubrey quickly reached for the glass, took a small mouthful, grinned at Lily in thanks, then returned to attending to her pile of apples.

About half an hour later, after much cooking and mirth, Veronica and Aubrey were sitting next each other at the kitchen bench, while Amanda stirred the soup.

"So, Aubrey, how did you enjoy the Sauv Blanc?" Veronica asked conversationally.

"It was quite nice, not too dry," Aubrey replied easily, before she cringed and looked guiltily at her mother.

"I see everything, Aubrey," Veronica said with a grin. "Surely you know this by now."

"Even the CCTV footage?" Aubrey asked warily.

"Only when something happens," Veronica admitted. "Why, do I need to check the CCTV footage?"

"Nope, you don't need to check it, I was just asking for future reference," Aubrey replied truthfully.

After dinner all the kids settled down together to watch an classic, _Ice Age_. It never failed to make all of them laugh, no matter what age, and no matter how many times it had been seen.

The adults, once sure that they children would behave themselves, set off to do their own things. As Veronica had mentioned on Sunday evening, she needed to do some case work, namely that pertaining to the Keating case.

The adults spread around the house to various spots, Lily and Liam to the new wing with their little ones, the other guys set up a game of poker at the dining table, Eva and Mac got out a puzzle to do, and Amanda snuggled up in front of the fire with a book.

Veronica headed to the office, shut the door, quietly locked it, and set up her things at the desk. The office was for anyone to use, though it wasn't very often that it was wanted when anyone made the trip to Napa, only Logan, Duncan, Veronica, and Dick very occasionally, used it.

Once her laptop was running, Veronica pulled up the necessary files, and set the accompanying hard copy information on the table. She began to go over the information she had collected the week before.

**Flashback**

The week after Liam's dinner party, Madison was about to leave to meet Brandon for coffee mid afternoon on Wednesday.

Veronica, who was well aware that this was when set to happen, arrived on Madison's doorstep about the time Madison would leave.

Before she reached the door, Veronica inserted a tracking device on Madison's car, which was conveniently in the driveway, and not the garage.

Veronica rapped on the door and waited for it to be opened.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Echolls," Madison's maid, Maria, said.

"Hi Maria," Veronica greeted her. "Would you please let Madison know that I'm here with a delivery. Actually, please just let her know there's a delivery from Logan Echolls."

Maria smiled understandingly and said, "Of course, Mrs Echolls. Please feel free to wait in the sitting room.

Instead, Veronica went straight to Madison's home phone, slipped a high tech bug onto it, then placed several other bugs around the house, cleverly concealed in ornaments.

She was just taking a seat on the couch when Maria appeared with Madison.

"Maria, you didn't tell me Veronica Mars was here," Madison said in irritation.

"Hi Madison," Veronica said cheerfully. "So sorry to impose, but I just wanted to return your dress from the other night. We had it dry cleaned, Logan took care of it himself, at his favourite cleaner in L.A., and gave them specific instructions that it was to be returned to it's original state, if possible. Of course it isn't as good as new, so I've also got a check for you, which should amply cover the cost of the dress."

"Thank you," Madison said, thawing a little. "Please thank Logan for me as well."

"Of course," Veronica said, a pleasant smile pasted on her features. "I also just wanted to thank you again for being so gracious to come to our dinner party, and for keeping Brandon company, and so well. He's mentioned to me twice since Saturday that he very much enjoyed getting to know you."

"Yes, we have so much in common," Madison boasted. "I'm actually just about to meet him for coffee, as soon as I find my pearl earrings."

"I'll get out of your way then," Veronica offered quickly. "Actually, do you mind if I quickly use your bathroom? I have to go straight from here to pick the kids up, or I wouldn't bother you."

"Sure that's fine," Madison said quickly. "Maria will see you out after then."

Veronica nodded and Madison hurried back upstairs to her room.

Once she was gone, Veronica did a quick scout around, and found that Madison had left her purse on a table in the hallway, presumably ready in preparation for her imminent departure.

Veronica pounced on the treasure, and disappeared with it to the bathroom.

Once inside she found Madison's cell phone, placed another high tech bug on it, one that would record all of Madison's incoming and outgoing calls and send a copy of any incoming and outgoing text messages to Veronica's program that accompanied the bug. The bug also could be traced, so if the phone was with Madison, Veronica would be able to trace her. The last thing the bug did, and perhaps most usefully, it acted like the common recording bugs Veronica had placed in Madison's home, it recorded anything going on around Madison.

To be safe, Veronica placed one more bug, this one in Madison's purse, and hoped it was one Madison liked to use a lot.

Veronica then flushed the toilet, for the sake of appearances, left the bathroom, and replaced Madison's purse.

With that, Veronica exited Madison's home, then drove around the block, pulled out her laptop, and began monitoring the tracking device on Madison's car, waiting for Madison to leave her house.

As soon as Madison left, Veronica headed back to Madison's.

She parked, hurried across to Madison's door and knocked.

"Mrs Echolls?" Maria greeted her in surprise.

"Hi Maria, sorry to bother, and I know Madison isn't here, but I can't seem to find the pendant from my necklace, and I wondered if it had perhaps fallen off while I was here?" Veronica asked.

"Oh, of course Mrs Echolls. Please come in a check. Do you want any help?" Maria offered.

"No, it's fine, I don't want to distract you from your work and get you in trouble with Madison," Veronica said understandingly.

Maria nodded, thankful. "You know how Miss Madison is," she said in relief.

"That I do," Veronica said, a little grimly. "Oh, while I'm here, Madison mentioned a new artwork she has upstairs, do you mind if I have a look at it?"

"Of course, Mrs Echolls," Maria agreed, then disappeared to do her work.

Veronica waited a couple of minutes, pretending to look for the pendant of her necklace, which was really in her purse. When she felt she'd waited long enough she went quickly upstairs and bugged Madison's room.

Satisfied that Madison was more than covered in the bug department, Veronica bade Maria farewell and left, returning to her office to see what there was to be learned from Madison's afternoon with Brandon.

Veronica reached her building, and greeted Lucy on her way through to her office. "Hi Lucy, any messages while I was out?"

"Yes, a few. Mr Echolls wanted to confirm your movie for tonight, Mrs Casablancas rang to ask you to call her about the Norford case, and a Mr Bingham rang about making an appointment, regarding a new case. I tried to tell him you weren't taking on too many new things, but he said he wanted to meet with you, because you're the best," Lucy quickly summarised.

"Thanks, Lucy. Please call Logan back and tell him of course we're still going to the movies tonight. I'll ring Mrs Casablancas myself, and you can make an appointment with Mr Bingham for eleven tomorrow," Veronica told her, then went into her office.

Veronica opened her laptop and prepared to receive the feed from the bugs in Madison's phone and purse.

She was desperately hoping that she would have something concrete to work on after Madison's coffee date with Brandon, or else she'd need to think of a new plan, and fast. She had received a call from Casper on Monday, essentially trying to hurry along her investigation, if possible. She'd briefly explained the current situation, and her plan, and told him she hoped to have a very strong 'in' by the end of the week.

When Casper had wanted to know why Veronica hadn't placed any bugs in Brandon's property, or personal items, the answer had been simple. She had tried, but his property was very secure, CCTV, locked gates and a security team ensured this. She was hoping that once Brandon and Madison became close she could either rely on the intel Madison would inadvertently receive, or she'd get a chance to bug Brandon and his possessions. Either way, she had a plan, and she just needed time for it to unfold.

So Veronica sat at her desk, plugged her head phones in, and began to listen to Madison and Brandon's conversation, anxiously awaiting something that would give her a concrete lead.

**End flashback**

Veronica had indeed received quite a few good mini leads, which was why she was going over them in depth in the office in Napa. Once she'd updated all her findings to date in the Keating file she began to plot her next move. She had enough information to start with, all she needed was a really good plan.

The rest of the week at Napa was spent indulging in happy and fun activities, though Veronica did take one more night out from the general fun, and by the end of it, had a plan.

Veronica sighed in happy contentment as she watched the children dance around the room. The children were all good kids, all got along well, and seemed to be well on their ways to making it through their childhoods without any disastrous things happening to them. Veronica, and indeed, all her friends, were relieved about this. None of them wanted their kids to have anything like the terrible things of their childhoods happen to them. The fact that Veronica believed she was getting much closer to safely finishing her part in the Keating case increased her sense of safety. The infectious music and laughter of the kids also lifted her spirits.

Caroline walked over to where her iPhone was plugged in, providing the music, and changed the song.

Christina Aguilera's _Candyman_ started to play.

"I love this song!" Violet exclaimed.

"So dance with me," James told her, grabbing her hand and swinging her into the middle of the large room.

Together they started to dance, their style a combination of jive and swing. Logan, Dick and Duncan had insisted since their children's birth that they had to learn at least the basics of ballroom dance. If they had had to put up with it, so did their children, and in the long run, basic dancing skills came in very useful.

Caroline grabbed Ollie and said, "Come on, dance with me. Let's show them who are the better siblings."

Oliver grinned at Caroline, took the hand the older girl offered him, and they joined Violet and James. Caroline let Oliver lead her, but largely danced around him, showing off her own dancing skills.

"Let's not let them have all the fun," Justin said, approaching Aubrey.

"I know, it's such a great song! You grab Honey and I'll make Carter dance with me," Aubrey told him, immediately crossing the room to where Carter was.

Justin watched her go, shook his head ruefully, then grabbed Honey and swung the little girl out into the room with him.

Aurora, Tom, Jaz, Tyler and Dakota were left, and obviously concluded they might as well dance too. Dakota grabbed Tom and made him dance with her, Aurora let Tyler dance with her, and Jaz stood alone, the odd one out. Wallace walked over to his daughter, took her hand, and began to dance with her. The smile that spread across her face was delightful.

Mac walked over to Veronica and said, "I never dreamed that our children would be like this. You know, practically the cast for a musical."

"It's in their DNA, dancing and showing off, it comes naturally to them," Veronica supplied.

"I kind of like that, you know. They'd never dance like this at home, but here, they seem to embrace whatever is going. Horse riding, going to markets, balloon rides, cycling, cooking, painting, singing around the fire, and now dancing," Mac said.

"I know, somehow, they're all turning out to be really good kids," Veronica agreed.

The holiday ended and the Neptune residents headed home, back to their lives of work, school and play.

**AN: Thanks for reading! The next chapter is ready to go, and I can reveal there is a shock twist in it. When I get 7 reviews for this chapter I'll upload the next one :) (If this doesn't happen it will be about 4-6 days until I upload) Anyway, look forward to hearing what you thought of this chapter :)**


	18. Chapter 16

**AN: So, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! It would be nice to see a few more, just to know what you guys think about what's happening in the story :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 16**

The Monday after fall break found Lily at lunch at The Bayside Restaurant with 'the girls'. The girls being her friends from high school. Lily was still in regular contact with Keira and Sophie, but otherwise relied on a once a month lunch to catch up with Mia and Melanie.

"How's Ben?" Lily asked Mia. Ben was Mia's husband of a couple of years.

"Oh good. Very busy, he's working hard to make partner in the firm at the moment," Mia replied. "How was your trip to Napa?"

"Wonderful, it's just lovely there at this time of the year," Lily answered.

"It would be nice if we go could away like that, just us girls for a weekend away like we use to when we were younger," Melanie said wistfully.

"I know," Sophie agreed. "Life just doesn't allow it at the moment though."

"A family trip, with all our families I mean, might be possible though," Keira said musingly.

"Maybe, but it would have to be well after I've had the baby and adjusted," Melanie replied. Melanie was six months pregnant with her first baby.

"You'll be fine, Mellie," Lily told her reassuringly. "I know it can be so scary before hand, but all that vanishes when you hold your baby in your arms. From that moment on you know you'll be able to care for them, you'll do whatever it takes."

The other women nodded in agreement, they all had small children of their own already.

Meanwhile in Veronica's office across the other side of Neptune, Veronica received a text message. Rather, Madison received a text message and Veronica received a duplicate of it. It was from Brandon. He was inviting her over, he wanted to tell her a bit more about his elite 'club' before she met some of the members the next week at their monthly meeting.

Veronica rubbed her hands in delight. She had struck gold. From the conversations she monitored between Brandon and Madison over the previous week she had listened to Brandon gauge Madison's potential interest in his extracurricular activities. Madison was so stupid that she agreed to anything readily, just to force her way into Brandon's life. So after their coffee on Wednesday, they'd had dinner on Saturday, and Madison truly believed Brandon liked her, whereas Brandon believed he had found someone useful to add to his cause, someone who moved in high circles, someone with money, and his cause needed willing donors.

So both were willing to do whatever it took to get the other on board, and Veronica grinned with satisfaction as she listened to them to her dirty work for her. With a little bit of luck she'd just have the case cracked within the next two weeks. If she dropped by Brandon's that afternoon, pretending to want to see Madison, she could easily plant a few bugs, and maybe copy Brandon's hard drive.

Veronica quickly opened her work safe, extracted all the possible devices she would need that afternoon and stored them in her purse, along with her gun and badge. She usually took her briefcase on work missions, but she needed her purse instead, being inconspicuous and looking like she was living her normal life was essential.

Once she was physically ready to go, Veronica sat down at her desk, checked the clock and saw she had twenty minutes to develop a plausible plan for going to see Madison.

Eventually, clutching at straws, she rang Mac.

"Q, I need your help, quickly. No, I'm not in danger, I just need a realistic reason for going to see Madison. It's part of a case, and I was wondering if you needed to see her for anything or give her anything, and I could do it for you instead," Veronica asked Mac hopefully.

"God, you have some weird cases Veronica. But let me see if I have anything to suit. Actually, she did leave a pair of her sunglasses at our last family dinner, and I told the Sinclairs I'd return them to her. Too flimsy?" Mac suggested.

"Probably," Veronica replied. "You know, I might have an idea. But I'll take those sunglasses with me. I'll pick them up in fifteen minutes. See you in a bit."

Veronica grabbed her purse, told Lucy she'd be back before close of business, and raced to Tiffany & Co. There she picked up an expensive white gold bracelet, set with pink sapphires, something that would speak directly to Madison's heart.

She then texted Madison to let her know she was dropping by to deliver something from Logan. Then she quickly picked up the sunglasses.

Following that she drove straight to Brandon's house, pulled up and began her walk to the front gate. She grinned as she read the reply from Madison letting her know she was out and to leave whatever it was at home.

Veronica buzzed the gate and said, "Hi, I'm Veronica Echolls, yes, Logan Echolls' wife. I'm here to drop something into Madison Sinclair. I believe she is here, I noticed her car."

"I'll just have to check with Mr Keating, just a minute please," the security man said.

A minute or so later the gates opened and Veronica made her way into the house.

As she walked along the ground next to Brandon's car she pretended to trip and fell to the ground, making a few things spill from her purse. While she was on the ground, her hair falling to shield her a little, she surreptitiously placed a tracking device on Brandon's car while she picked up her things and returned them to her purse.

She then dusted herself off and made her way to the front door.

The front door opened to reveal Brandon.

"Hi Veronica," he greeted her. "I wasn't expecting you to drop by."

"Sorry about the intrusion," Veronica apologised, slipping into her role of rich, simpering Neptune socialite wife. "It's just I was on my way to dropping something into Madison, and I noticed her car parked out the front. I thought I'd take a chance and drop by."

"Of course, it's not a problem," Brandon said, leading her through the house, presumably to where Madison was.

"I just wanted to thank you again for coming to our dinner party the other week," Veronica said cordially. "Madison seemed to really appreciate having you there."

"You're welcome, I enjoyed it, and as you can tell, I'm enjoying getting to know Madison more," Brandon replied. "And here she is."

"Nice to see you, again, and so soon," Madison said dully to Veronica, clearly not meaning the words, but not being openly rude in front of Brandon.

"Yes, indeed. I won't keep you long though, Madison. I just had been meaning to drop these things into you," Veronica said, fishing a couple of packages out her purse.

Madison looked curiously at the packages, particularly the light medium robin blue of the Tiffany's bag.

Veronica stepped across the where Madison was perched on a chair and handed Madison the items.

"That one is just some sunglasses of yours that Mac has been meaning to return to you, you left them at the last family gathering. I offered to give them to you when I brought you that," Veronica said, referring to the Tiffany's.

"Oh, okay. What's the Tiffany's for?" Madison asked a little stupidly.

"Well, Logan and I had been talking about what a good sport you were with the cake and everything, and about how bad we felt that your dress was ruined, so we thought we'd just get you that as an extra apology. Logan helped me pick it, he thought it was very, 'you'," Veronica lied.

Madison however looked suspicious.

"What are you up to, Veronica Mars?" Madison asked suddenly. "You've never been nice to me, not even after, well, anything."

"You're right Madison, there's no love lost between us. But my kindness now is just to thank you, to make sure that there's no added bad blood between us. We're getting older, it seems silly to add new things to our old feuds," Veronica said smoothly, and apparently genuinely.

"Fine, thank you, and thank Logan, for the bracelet. It is very lovely," Madison said quietly. "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, Brandon, if it's not too much trouble, could I get a glass of water? I have quite a headache and need to take some painkillers," Veronica said, concocting an excuse to remain in the house longer to plant more bugs.

"Sure, I'll take you to the kitchen," Brandon offered.

"Oh I don't want to trouble you. Just point me that way and you can continue your visit with Madison," Veronica said, as innocently and casually as possible.

"If you're sure," Brandon said slowly. "It's down the hall on the left. There's chilled, filtered water from the tap in the fridge door. Glasses are in the cupboard over the dishwasher."

"Thanks," Veronica said, heading off in that direction, her purse over her shoulder, her classic black heels clicking on the hardwood floor.

Veronica peeked into the doorways she passed on her way to the kitchen noticing that most of the rooms were in fact carpeted.

She inwardly cursed her clicking heels on the hardwood floor.

Once in the kitchen she poured herself some water, and popped a couple of pills, her head really was a little sore.

Then Veronica quietly slipped out of her heels, leaving them on the floor, took the bugs out of her purse, pocked them, then stealthily left the kitchen, her stockinged feet making no sound on the floor.

She slipped down the hall, picked up the home phone and placed a high tech bug on it.

That finished she concealed a couple of bugs in some ornaments, all the while pretending that she was inspecting them from out of artist interest.

Veronica then happened upon a room that she realised was an office of sorts, for in it was a computer.

Realising she had struck gold she slipped inside, pulled out a device and started copying the hard drive.

Veronica gnawed on her lip as she waited for the copying to be complete. She guessed she only had a few minutes before Madison and Brandon became suspicious, and if that happened, Brandon would probably be very suspicious, seeing as it was well know that Veronica was a detective, and a very successful one at that.

The light on the device then flashed red, Veronica ripped it out of the computer and fled silently back to the kitchen.

She slipped back into her shoes, grabbed her purse and started to walk back down the hall to say goodbye to Madison and Brandon. Her mission had been very successful, and there was only one more thing that could top it – managing to bug Brandon's cell phone. She didn't think it was going to be likely that she could get it done, but she was hoping a chance might be created on her way out.

On her way back to Madison and Brandon her phone rang.

She pulled it out of her purse, saw 'Neptune High' on the caller ID and answered, an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Hello, Veronica Echolls speaking," Veronica said briskly.

"Mrs Echolls, we need you to come down to the school immediately," the voice on the other end began. "Your daughter isn't injured, but there has been a rather serious incident and we think it would be best if you got here as fast as possible. The sheriff is on his way too."

"Oh, okay, I'll be right there," Veronica said, suppressing the panic that filled her.

Veronica hung up and walked into the room where Brandon and Madison were.

"Thanks for your hospitality, but I have to go now. I just got a call from the school, something has happened with Aubrey," Veronica said a little wildly.

"Are you alright to drive?" Brandon asked, apparently concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, but I really have to go now," Veronica replied, and she whirled and raced out of the room, her heeled feet fly as fast as they could.

Once out the front she jumped into her car, started the car, revved the engine aggressively, then peeled out from the curb and headed for Neptune High as fast as humanly possible. As part of her training Veronica knew how to drive at high speeds without endangering herself or others, so that was what she did, and so help anyone who pulled her over.

No one did, and she was at Neptune High in a matter of mere minutes. On her arrival she noticed several cars from the sheriff department were already there. This reminded her to call her dad and Logan, which she did as she ran into the school, headed straight for the principal's office.

Veronica gave Logan and her father the same brusque message: "Get to Neptune High, now. No one is dead, but something has happened. I don't know what yet."

She hadn't given either man a chance to reply, and had just hung up, leaving them both shocked and worried.

Veronica reached the principal's office in record time and burst inside to see the sheriff, Eva who was on duty, the principal and Aubrey.

Aubrey was as white as a sheet.

"What the hell has happened?" Veronica asked urgently.

**Flashback**

About an hour before Veronica had burst into the principal's office, Aubrey had been walking down a corridor of Neptune High, Dan on one side, Caroline on the other.

They were all headed to their after lunch classes, going via their lockers. Aubrey's locker was the last on their list to visit.

"Adrian Carson is an ass," Caroline was telling Dan pertly. "So you can tell him, 'No thanks, I don't want to go out with you' from me."

"Okay, okay, he just see if you were interested, word kind of travelled that you were allowed to date," Dan said soothingly.

"That happens when you date a new guy every week, Care," Aubrey pointed out.

"Well how am I supposed to figure out who I actually like if I don't let them take me on at least one date," Caroline argued.

"Well, you just told me Adrian is an ass, and you haven't dated him," Dan pointed out with a grin.

"Fine, I don't need to date all guys to get to know them," Caroline huffed.

"Aubrey, Aubrey, what's the matter?" Dan asked urgently, sensing something was amiss with his girlfriend.

Aubrey had opened her locker, and had stopped laughing and smiling. Instead she was staring into her locker with glassy eyes, her face was very white and her hands trembled.

Inside was a blonde Barbie doll, it was covered in what looked like red blood, and it had a noose around it's neck. Attached to it was a typed note.

It read, "**I'll get you first, then the rest of your family, one by one, until your mother is left, alone a miserable. She'll pay. You will all pay.**"

Caroline had also realised something was wrong with her best friend, and squeezed past Aubrey to look in her locker, something of interest was obviously in there.

Caroline saw the doll, quickly read the note and emitted one short, piercing shriek.

Aubrey was still standing still, looking as if she'd seen a ghost, and Dan was trying to get her to talk.

He heard Caroline scream, turned to her and said, "Caroline, what the hell is the matter?"

"Have you looked in there?" Caroline asked in a panicked tone.

Dan looked, swore and closer the locker with a bang.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Caroline was muttering, repeating the phrase over and over, and it got loud and more panicky with each repetition.

"Caroline! Get your shit together!" Dan demanded. "I'm going to call the sheriff. You take Aubrey to the nurse, she's in shock, I think. Actually, take her to the principal. Tell him what's happened. He can take it from there. I'll meet you in the principal's office as soon as I've got a hold of the sheriff."

"Okay," Caroline agreed quickly, somewhat calmed by Dan's firm orders. "Wait, Dan. Make sure you ask for Eva Kane to come if she's on duty. Make sure you tell them the matter concerns Aubrey Echolls."

Five minutes later Dan joined the girls in the principal's office, where Caroline had just finished telling Principal Adams their tale.

"I'm going to need you to take me to Miss Echolls' locker," Principal Adams said grimly. "Aubrey, I'm going to need you to open your locker for me."

Aubrey looked visibly traumatised at this suggestion so Dad quickly said, "I'll do it, sir. I know her combination, and I don't want her to have to open it again. Also, the sheriff will be here in a few minutes. Someone should also probably call Mrs Echolls, she's a private investigator, and from what I know of her, she'll be pretty wild if she's not called straight away."

"Yes, thank you for that Daniel," Principal Adams said tartly. "Miss Jarman will attend to calling Mrs Echolls while we go to Miss Echolls' locker."

The quartet set off down the now quiet corridor for Aubrey's locker.

Dan entered Aubrey's combination and swung the locker open.

Caroline shuddered and said suddenly, "I'll go and wait for Aunt Eva out the front, so I can bring them here as quickly as possible."

"Thank you Miss Casablancas," Principal Adams said a little distractedly, his attention focused on the horror in Aubrey's locker. Then to the other two he said, "Okay, we need not to touch this. Did either of you touch this? No? Good. It's a crime scene, and it should make the sheriff department's job a lot easier if none of us have touched it. I do want to prepare you for the fact that they'll probably need your finger prints anyway, to see who has been touching Miss Echolls' locker."

So they waited for Caroline to reappear with the sheriff. Dan pulled Aubrey to him and held her comfortingly.

Principal Adams stared at the locker, his mind churning at the turn of events. Nothing like this had happened to him before. Neptune High had been a place of relative normalcy for the last few decades. The drama of Veronica's era had left with Veronica, for the most part. The said drama of course was legendary though, and the fact that the new drama was unfolding on the daughter of Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls would have been ironically amusing to the principal, was it not so serious.

Just then Caroline reappeared, bringing what appeared to be an army from the sheriff's department. Whatever Dan had said had done the trick.

The sheriff and his deputy's had set to cordoning off the area and taking the appropriate photos and samples. Meanwhile Principal Adams took Aubrey, Dan and Caroline back to his office.

Eva and the sheriff joined them a short time later, the other deputy's being left to take care of continuing their work.

This was where Veronica found them.

**End flashback**

"What the hell is going on?" Veronica repeated.

**AN: So, where any of you expecting that? 5 reviews and the next chapter goes up!**


	19. Chapter 17

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed! (To address a specific question from guest reviewer, tarnya widdicomb, no nothing serious will happen to any of the children, or anyone we love.) Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations :)**

**Chapter 17**

At first nobody spoke to the slightly wild looking Veronica as she stood in the principal's office.

"Aubrey, are you alright?" Veronica asked urgently, walking over to her daughter and gathering her into a tight embrace.

Veronica looked into Aubrey's eyes and said quietly, "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

Aubrey nodded her head, then shook her head, then buried it into Veronica's shoulder.

"She's had a nasty shock, Veronica," Eva began, finally beginning to answer some of Veronica's questions.

"But what happened?" Veronica asked.

"It might be best if we take you and show you," the sheriff said, taking over from Eva, which was technically more correct.

"Okay, just a minute, I need to take care of my daughter first," Veronica told him firmly. "Darling, I want you and Caroline to go to the nurse, Dan can take you. Get her to give you both something for shock. I'll let Daddy and Grandpa know that where you both are. Caroline, has anyone called your mom?"

"Nobody has quite thought to do that yet," Principal Adams supplied.

"Right, well, someone should do that immediately. Tell Mrs Casablancas that there has been an incident, that Caroline isn't physically hurt, and that I'm already here. Try to convey importance without panic," Veronica instructed.

Veronica stood there, waiting expectantly for everyone to do as she'd told them.

"Well? Let's get to it," Veronica said crisply, waking everyone to movement.

Veronica walked off down the hall with Eva and the sheriff, her heart hurting as she watched her evidently traumatised daughter go off without her.

She quickly sent her father and Logan messages, telling them where to find Aubrey. She also added to Keith that he should find he as soon as he'd seen Aubrey.

"Sheriff, my father as you would know, is Keith Mars, he'll be here shortly, and I'd like for him to join us, for whatever it is you're about to show me," Veronica told the sheriff.

"Of course, Detective Echolls," the sheriff replied.

Veronica was pleased that he'd called her that, instead of Mrs Echolls, it meant that he was thinking of her as a investigator, rather than a mother, so she would be able to get all the information.

"So, what can you tell me about what happened? Nobody's told me anything so far," Veronica asked.

"Well, about twenty-five minutes ago we got a call from a Daniel Moss, who I understand is your daughter's boyfriend. He informed us that there had been an attack on Aubrey Echolls, but that she wasn't actually harmed, and that Caroline Casablancas had requested that Deputy Evelyn Kane come to the crime scene if she was on duty," the sheriff said, beginning his summary. "When we arrived here we were shown by Caroline Casablancas to Aubrey Echolls' locker. On the way Miss Casablancas explained that she, Miss Echolls and Mr Moss were on their way to class when they stopped at Aubrey's locker. Aubrey opened her locker and it came to their attention that something inside it was not right."

They had almost reached Aubrey's locker by this point in the story, and Veronica was becoming more anxious by the second, wondering what was inside it.

"When we reached her locker we observed its contents, the began the appropriate procedures for such a crime," the sheriff finished. "I won't bother telling you what's in her locker. You may just look for yourself, as we've reached it. I will just say first, prepare yourself. It's not pleasant."

Veronica shared a grim look with Eva, then stepped under the tape that cordoned off Aubrey's locked from the rest of the hall.

"Sheriff Webster, someone needs to give Principal Adams instructions on how to deal with the rest of the student body. It's almost time for them to move to their last period of the day," Eva said to the sheriff as Veronica moved right up to Aubrey's locker.

Veronica looked into the locker just as Sheriff Webster sent Eva to follow up with the principal.

She took in the contents with a gasp, and a sinking heart.

Logan was going to be furious.

One of the very things he had warned her against for years, that they had fought about time and time again, had happened. Somebody wanted revenge on Veronica, and she had absolutely no idea who it could be. She highly doubted that it was linked to Brandon Keating, and the sooner she got Mac to crack his hard drive the sooner she'd be able to remove him from a very long list of suspects.

Veronica turned shakily away from the locker. She dreaded having to tell Logan that someone was planning on murdering their whole family. Hell, she dreaded having to face the coming days as they all faced the news and began to make sure nothing bad eventuated.

Veronica then noticed her father coming down the hall towards her. Even though Keith was now in is seventies he was in pretty good shape, and his mind was just as able as it had been.

"Daddy," Veronica said a little brokenly, moving toward him and hugging him fiercely for a brief moment.

"What's going on, Veronica?" Keith asked in concern.

"Take a look for yourself, I already cleared it with Sheriff Webster," Veronica told him.

So Keith looked, swore, and turned back to his daughter.

"So, it's happened?" he asked sadly. "I never wanted it to, but it was always a fear for me, that someone would hate you enough to want this kind of revenge. Don't worry, Veronica. You're strong, your kids are strong, Logan is strong. We'll get you through this, you always come out on top."

"I hope you're right, Dad. One day my number will be up though, and if it happens to be soon, they're not taking my kids too," Veronica said fiercely.

"You can't think like that, Veronica. The only way you'll survive this is if you believe that you're going to survive," Keith told her firmly. "Now, I think it's time you spoke to Logan. The sheriff's department is fine here, and I'll stay with Aubrey and Caroline."

Veronica nodded tersely at Webster, and she and her father headed to the nurse's office.

"Mac should be here by now, too," Veronica told Keith.

"Attention all students," Adams' voice rang out over the PA system. "Do not be alarmed, but there has been an incident, which has resulted in a student's locked being roped off. If it affected you getting to your own locker, come and speak to me, and I'll take care of it with the sheriff's department."

"Well, that's sure to cause an instant buzz," Veronica remarked, as she opened the door to the nurse's office.

Logan stood immediately and walked over to Veronica. "Ronnie, what's going on?" he asked.

Veronica nodded in the direction of the hall, then said, "Aubrey, we're going to go and see Principal Adams. Grandpa will wait with you and Caroline."

"Why are we going to see Adams, Veronica?" Logan asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Because that bell is about to ring, and we need somewhere private to talk," Veronica replied.

"You know, I'd suggest your old office, but I don't think it's quite appropriate," Logan said, attempting a grim joke, referring to Veronica's use of the girl's bathroom in high school.

"No, not really," Veronica replied, as equally as grimly.

They walked in silence to the principal's office, where Veronica knocked briskly and opened the door.

"Excuse me sir, but could we have the use of your office briefly. We need somewhere private we can talk," Veronica said brusquely.

"Of course, I need to take care of some things," Principal Adams said quickly, standing and leaving his seat. "Feel free to lock the door from the inside. Take all the time you need."

The door clicked at Adams left, and Veronica locked the door behind him.

"You might want to sit down for this," Veronica began warily.

"I think I'll stand," Logan replied, also wary.

"Well, you're not going to like any of this. There's nothing good about it, but we're going to have to deal with it the best way that we can," Veronica began.

"Veronica, just **tell me**," Logan said urgently.

"There is a mutated Barbie doll in Aubrey's locker, and attached to it is a note threatening to kill us all, starting with Aubrey, because of me. It's not signed, and I have no idea who it is from," Veronica told Logan as calmly as possible.

"Jesus Christ, Veronica!" Logan swore. "Goddamn it all to hell! I just knew this would happen one day, and it's all because of your fucking work."

"Logan, you can't yell here," Veronica warned.

"What the hell do you mean I can't yell here? I've done it before, haven't I? Neptune High is no stranger to drama," Logan retorted irately. "My daughter, our whole family is under threat because of your work, Veronica. How could you let this happen?"

"I didn't let it happen, Logan. Do you think I'm enjoying this? I never wanted this. I just wanted to make a difference, serve my country, then have a family with you. You're an absolute idiot if you think I let this happen," Veronica said, her own temper flaring.

"Well maybe you didn't specifically request that this happen, but your actions invite it," Logan said in an icy tone, a very dangerous tone of cold rage.

"Logan, I couldn't not pursue my chosen career out of fear of what the future my hold. There are always going to be people out there who will do sick things like this. Hell, it could just as easily be one of your crazy fans, instead of someone I came up against in the line of duty," Veronica pointed out harshly, yet accurately.

"But it wasn't my career that caused this, it's yours," Logan replied. "And now we're going to have to spend weeks, maybe months, just fighting to keep our family safe, and it's your fault."

"I know, I know," Veronica said tearfully, suddenly breaking.

Her tears stopped Logan's panicked wrath and he stepped over to her and pulled her into his arms.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault," Veronica sobbed. "How am I going to explain to Violet, Tom and Ollie that they're all in danger because of me?"

Logan stroked her hair and said, "Shh, Ronnie. It's not your fault. I should've have said that, or yelled at you. I'm just scared too. You were right, sometimes things like this happen, and there's nothing we can do about it but fight it."

Veronica sniffed fiercely, trying to stem her tears. "We'll fight, no one is going to hurt our family, not if I have anything to say about it. I'll call in some old favours from some old friends in high places. The sheriff's department here will do everything they can for us, and we'll tighten our home security as much as possible," Veronica said bravely, her spirits rising as she listed the things she could do.

"Veronica, you don't have to do anything, except take care of yourself and the children. I can make all the security arrangements and deal with the sheriff's department," Logan offered gently.

"I know you can, I know I don't have to, but I **need** to," Veronica replied. "I'll go crazy if I don't. And it will be better for everyone if I work on it. After all, it's someone who wants revenge on me, I'll need to go through all my old cases for starts."

"Okay, you do what you have to do, but I want you to have plenty of extra protection," Logan compromised.

"Alright," Veronica agreed easily. "We'd better get out of here, give Adams back his office, and start taking care of things."

Logan nodded, took Veronica's hand in his and they left the office to begin to take care of the situation.

They went to collect Aubrey first, where they found Mac with Caroline and Aubrey. Mac told them that Dick was taking care of collecting all their children after school and would keep an eye on them until Veronica and Logan were able to take them home.

From there Veronica left Logan with Aubrey and she went to find the sheriff. With him she found Eva and Keith. The three of them appeared to be in a very serious conversation, which Veronica joined.

It was quickly agreed that they would all need to go down to the sheriff's station where they could take care of things in a higher security area. Aubrey, Caroline and Dan all needed to be finger printed as well.

Within ten minutes the necessary people where headed to the Neptune Sheriff Station, and the sheriff left a couple of deputies to guard the area surrounding Aubrey's locker.

Down at the station Aubrey, Caroline and Dan were taken away by Eva to have their fingerprints taken.

"Sheriff, may I have an interrogation room for my own use, for about ten minutes?" Veronica asked briskly.

"Of course, take the second room," Sheriff Webster agreed quickly.

"Mac, can you join me please?" Veronica requested.

"Sure," Mac agreed curiously.

The pair walked in and Veronica shut the door and locked it.

"What are we planning?" Mac asked, puzzled.

"We have to talk quietly," Veronica warned. "I don't want there to be any chance of Logan listening in."

Mac's face changed from puzzled to concerned.

"What's going on, Veronica?" Mac hissed.

"This," Veronica began, fishing the device with the copy of Brandon's hard drive out of her purse. "It's part of a case I'm working on at the moment, and secrecy is of the utmost importance. Logan doesn't know I've taken this case, no one does, and it needs to stay that way. I can't tell you want it's about, you can't know, but I need you to break whatever encryption is protecting the hard drive and all the files on it. And most importantly, you can't look at anything on it. I don't know if any of it relates to what happened today, but I still need what's on it, regardless. I don't want to pressure you, or put you in a hard position, but I need what's on there as soon as possible."

"Okay," Mac agreed quietly. "I never question your cases Veronica, but this isn't something terribly dangerous, is it?"

"It's not," Veronica said, believing it to be the truth. "I'm working with some people on it, and I have their support as well, which is extra reassuring."

"If you're sure," Mac said uneasily. "Well, I'll head home with this now, I'll take Caroline with me, Aubrey took if you want, and you and Logan can get your kids when you've finished here."

Mac and Veronica left the interrogation room. Mac headed to find out where Caroline was and Veronica approached Sheriff Webster.

"Thank you, Sheriff. I suppose you will need to question Logan and I now, regarding who may have left that note," Veronica queried.

"We will. At this stage you know there is not much we can do though, unless we find a fingerprint on the doll, the note or the locker. We will of course open an investigation, but there will probably be nothing we can do but wait for something else to happen and be ready to take action when it does," the sheriff explained. "As you know, you may of course hire any extra security you want, in fact we advise it, and you obviously can involve a private investigator. I know you have connections and I'll leave it up to you to use them and won't bother suggesting anyone. One last thing, depending on how the case progresses it may have to be taken over by someone higher up than our sheriff's department."

"Of course, thank you for covering all that," Veronica replied.

"It's my job, Detective Echolls. Now, Aubrey and her friends are just finishing giving their statements, your husband is with her I believe, there is no need for a lawyer of course. I'll get your statement first, then his," the sheriff told her.

"Aubrey will go home with Mrs Casablancas, if that's alright," Veronica interjected.

"That's fine, one of my deputies will finish up with her and let her know when she can go," Sheriff Webster replied. "Shall we go into the interrogation room now?"

"Of course," Veronica complied.

They went into room, sat down, and the sheriff set his things up.

After covering the first basic details of who, when and what, the sheriff moved onto why.

"Detective Echolls, you appeared to be the key target according to the note left in your daughter's locker. Do you have any idea who would seek that kind of revenge on you and your family?" Sheriff Webster asked.

"Honestly? Yes and no. I mean, anyone I've been responsible for putting away over the last twenty-five years or so could want revenge on me. It doesn't matter whether I put them away before or after I was with Logan and had the children because as you would know, my husband is a rather high profile person, and there's plenty of information available to the public about our family. So a criminal looking for me would have no trouble finding a lot of ideas to begin a plot for revenge. Aubrey is our eldest daughter, so an easier target. In saying all of that, it is more likely that someone wanting serious revenge like that is someone I cam across before I was married and had my children, largely because since I've been back in Neptune I haven't taken high risk cases like I had in the FBI," Veronica explained in detail.

"So you believe it is more likely that you are being targeted by a criminal that you came up against when you were in the FBI?" the sheriff asked in clarification.

"Yes, I do. Of course I can rule nothing out at the moment. I will have to get in touch with some old colleagues, pull some strings, and see who is still in gaol from my old cases. I will naturally go through all the other cases I have had out side of the FBI too," Veronica replied. "Is there anything else?"

"I'm afraid there is. I feel I have to ask you this, for the sake of being thorough. You said before that your husband is a very high profile person, and in Hollywood no less. You further explained that this means that you and your family have ended up being very visible to the public. I find this a bit odd, given your line of work. I would've thought that once someone like yourself started a family they would give up such a job as yours, or at least try to minimize their contact with the media?" Sheriff Webster queried.

"What are you asking exactly?" Veronica questioned.

"I guess what I'm wondering is, why did you choose the course you did? Expose your family to more potential danger?" the sheriff asked, having the grace to look abashed at his question.

"Because I didn't feel that was what I was doing, and neither did Logan. Logan and I have had media coverage for many years, you know what my involvement was with Lilly Kane back in 2003. Logan of course has been in the lime light since he was a child. Over the years we've both found that no matter how much you try to stay out of the limelight, the media will find you, and they generally pursue you more relentlessly. We decided to take a different approach with our children, especially in this age where technology allows the paparazzi to be so relentless. It seemed better to just give them information, on a basic level, so that we wouldn't be a mystery for them to solve," Veronica said wryly. "So no, we didn't feel we were putting our children in unnecessary danger. There will always be sick people in the world who want to cause pain and destruction and Logan and I felt that living our lives in fear, or only half living them, would be letting them win."

"Thank you, Detective Echolls, you've been very helpful. We will call you if there is anything further we need, or if we have any information for you," the sheriff said, standing. "You are free to go. I'll see Mr Echolls now, or as soon as he's ready."

"I send him in," Veronica told him.

So Veronica walked back out into the main part of the station where she found Logan, sitting in a chair, talking agitatedly on the phone.

"No, I want to see someone today, I don't care if you're closing in an hour, I'll pay whatever it takes. Don't you understand who you're talking to? Look, put me through to your superior, now!" Logan barked.

Veronica sat down next to him and waited for him to have his conversation out.

Logan finished his conversation and secured a meeting for that day.

"I've been using the same damn security company for the last twenty years," he complained. "You think the dimwit on reception would realise I was a client of importance."

"Well, you've got what you needed," Veronica said soothingly. "Now, the sheriff needs your statement now. He'll just be asking routine questions. I'm sure you know this, but I just wanted to remind you. You're not in the wrong, none of us are, we're not on trial. So there's no need to accidentally revert to your old teenage habits of snarking and being difficult. Even if he asks you something you don't like it will be much better if you hold it together. It's better to be respected than feared. Don't yell, work with him," Veronica explained, attempting to make her words the least condescending as possible.

"Yes Ronnie. I know. I'll be good," Logan promised, attempting to look comical.

"Okay. Well, while you're doing that I'm going to head to the office and make some calls for there. I'm going to pull some strings, get some people started on solving this. Call me when you're done and we can go and pick the kids up together," Veronica told him.

"Actually Sugarpus, I just made that meeting with the security company, remember?" Logan reminded her.

"Of course. Well, call me when you're finished with that. I'm sure I'll need all the time I can get to try and get some people on this right away. I'll see if Mac and Dick can feed the kids and we'll pick them up after dinner, together, when we're both done," Veronica suggested.

"Sounds good," Logan agreed.

Veronica turned to leave, but Logan's voice stopped her before she got far.

"I love you, Veronica Echolls," he said, trying to hide the emotion in his voice.

Veronica turned back, moved quickly to him, gave him a quick kiss that was full of promise, promise that everything would work out.

"I love you too, jackass," she said, her voice trembling a bit.

"But I'm your jackass," he said cheekily.

"Always," Veronica promised.

**AN: Thanks for reading :)**

**Up next, V pays a visit to the L.A. FBI office and we learn more about how they're coping with the threat on their family.**

**Next chapter up after 5 reviews or in 5 days, whichever happens first!**


	20. Chapter 18

**AN: Wow! You guys were super quick reviewing :) So here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 18**

Two days later, Wednesday, found Veronica headed north on the I-405, and stopping at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Westminster to change cars. There was no way she was going to the FBI in her own car. The Keating case, combined with the threat on her family, meant stealth was imperative.

As Veronica drove her mind moved at a million miles an hour, reliving the last two days.

Once at the office on Monday evening Veronica had called Casper in L.A., arranging a meeting for Wednesday morning so they could discuss the progress on The Keating case, and the threat on the Echolls family. Casper had promised to pull up all the information on her old cases and to have it ready for her when she came.

Just as she had finished Logan had called on his way back from Garden Grove, where the security company was and they had made their way to the Casablancas' to get their children.

Logan had sorted everything out with the security company, American Shield Private Security, and they were coming first thing in the morning.

This was what Logan and Veronica told the children to start with.

They had sat them down in the lounge room and talked calmly, but seriously to them.

"Things are going to be a little bit different tomorrow morning," Veronica had begun. "You're all staying home from school in the morning because the people from the security company are coming to speak to us. We're going to have to make some changes around here for the moment. There has been a threat directed at our family, but it's nothing any of you need to worry about. Mom and Dad are taking care of it, and we've got the best people possible helping us. All you need to do is obey us and be sensible, and otherwise, do what you normally do."

"And as a treat, we're having dessert three nights this week," Logan had added with a smile. "Your mother decided a sugar overload from ice cream was the best thing we could give you."

The had children grinned, relieved by Logan's joking. Nothing could be too seriously wrong if he was making jokes. Aubrey wasn't entirely set at ease, as she knew the full story, but there was nothing else she could do but listen to what her parents had said.

So the head of American Shield Private Security had come out on Tuesday morning, had introduced the new and increased protection detail to the whole family, had told them what to do in the case of an emergency and explained the added security that was being added to the property.

Oliver, Tom and Violet had taken the information in with wide eyes, and Aubrey had been oddly quiet, though reassured by the measures being taken.

It had been painful for both Veronica and Logan, listening to the way their children would have to live for who knew how long. Even though Veronica and Logan had tried their best to reassure them, and told them not to be afraid, the constant presence of security would frighten them to some degree or other.

Just after lunch time, when the kids were safely at school, and the meeting with the security company over, Mac had called Veronica to let her know that she'd decrypted all the information Veronica had given her.

Veronica had rushed straight to Mac's, thanked her briefly and profusely, then headed straight to her office to start sifting through the contents.

Nothing in it pointed towards Brandon being the threat on the Echolls family, as Veronica had thought would be the case, but there was quite a bit of information pertaining to Brandon's activities with the white supremacists. There were meeting times and places, and some contacts, though there was no list of members, unfortunately. The information would need to be thoroughly sifted through, and discussed with Casper, which was one of Veronica's purposes in heading to the FBI office in L.A..

When Veronica pulled into the secure parking lot at the FBI that morning, after pressing her finger to the print reader, she was wearing a wig, one giving her a brunette bob. She and Casper had decided that it would be best if she continued to wear a disguise when she came up to L.A.. Veronica was too recognisable without changing her appearance.

Briefcase in hand, Veronica made her way up to the fourteenth floor, her heels making no noise on the carpeted hallways. She took as many back passageways as possible so that as few people saw her as possible.

Up on the fourteenth floor she walked to the third meeting room, entered a code, then allowed her fingerprint to be scanned.

The lock then clicked and allowed Veronica to open the door.

She went in and set herself up at the desk and Agent Casper joined her a few minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late, Echolls," he apologised. "Now, where should we start?"

"We should start with The Keating Case, it's your priority, and help you give me with my personal problem should come second," Veronica said professionally.

"Right, begin then," Casper ordered.

"Well, as I said when I called last night, Cindy Casablancas decrypted the contents of Brandon Keating's hard drive, she was unaware of what she was doing for me specifically, as requested. I spent yesterday afternoon going through the it's contents and I can tell you that it has provided me with quite a few leads," Veronica began.

"Excellent, Echolls," Casper said briskly. "What did you find?"

"I found calendar entries which appear to be meetings Keating has attended over the last several years. He hasn't used a specific name for the group the meetings are held by, but it's almost certainly pertaining to his white supremacy activities. In the calendar section there were several entries for upcoming meetings, over the next couple of weeks. I will be following up on these leads with the assistance of the information I have from my bugs in his house and my bugs on Madison Sinclair," Veronica elaborated. "The contents of the hard drive can be turned over to you to be thoroughly combed through by your agents, and will of course be evidence when it goes to court. When I've finished my involvement with the case I will naturally give you all my findings and anything information I have received electronically, via the bugs."

"Good, Echolls. What specifically will be your next move? Will you require backup?" Casper asked.

"No, I think not. I'm not planning on doing anything reckless or visible. I intend to bug the venue of their next meeting and record what happens in it. Once we have that we should have enough evidence to arrest people. I'll give you the evidence and you can bust them at their next meeting," Veronica explained.

"Excellent, you're moving along very efficiently," Casper replied, pleased. "As far as I'm concerned everything is under control with the case. Now, what can we do to help you with the attack on your family?"

"This is going to be a lot to ask, but I wanted to ask first up if you, or rather The Bureau, would be able to provide a couple of agents to devote to the case. I need help going through all my past cases to see who is still behind bars, and who is out, et cetera. Also, even though Logan has hired a lot of extra security, it would be really good if I could have an undercover agent assigned to Neptune to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. My eldest, Aubrey, seems to be the main target at the moment, so having an agent on her would be desirable. The agent doesn't need to know that I'm back with The Bureau, just that there has been a threat on an ex agent's family," Veronica suggested.

"I think we'll be able to work something out," Casper began. "First of all, we've already got all the information from your previous cases. We have them in two sections, those still in gaol, those on parole. You of course will be the best person to go through them, but I think we can probably spare an agent to give you to help. They should stay here to do that, but you will be free to call them, as Detective Echolls, not Agent Echolls, and liaise with them."

"Thank you," Veronica said in relief.

"Of course. We'll take care of arranging all that and I'll call you to give you the specifics," Casper promised. "You're free to go now, I'm sure you have a lot to take care of at home."

"Yes, I really do," Veronica agreed grimly. "Thanks Casper."

"Good luck Echolls. Call if you need anything, and that's not a courtesy offer, I mean it. If you get in too deep, with anything, call for backup, don't revert to your rash, rookie ways of old," Casper warned sternly.

"Yes sir," Veronica promised seriously.

With that Veronica left the L.A. FBI office and headed back to Neptune.

Veronica wanted very much to go straight home, to tell Logan that she was working on finding out who was behind the attack, but she knew she had to go to the office, to continue with life as if everything was normal, otherwise the enormity of the situations before her would get the best of her.

At the office Veronica worked on some normal cases she had, made calls, looked through case information, then spent a little time beginning to plan for attending the next meeting Brandon was going to. She would monitor all his contact with Madison, and anyone else possible, up until the next meeting, which was in twelve days time. The reason she needed to monitor his contact with everyone was to try to ensure that she knew if he was actually attending the next meeting. It was almost useless to her if he wasn't, because getting definitive proof that he was an active white supremacist was a key part of her case. The finer details of what to take, when to go, what to drive and if she actually would need back up would be worked out later.

The close of business came and Veronica packed up, said goodbye to Lucy, and headed home.

At home she found the house oddly silent. All the cars were there, so Logan couldn't be out with any of them, and they should've all been home, including Aubrey, as cheer practice should've finished.

"I'm home!" Veronica called as she stepped inside. "Where are you all?"

"I'm in my office, Ronnie," Logan supplied, and various calls of 'Hi Mom' drifted from different areas of the house.

The faint voices reassured Veronica and she made her way to see Logan first.

"Hi Sugarpus, how was your day?" Logan asked as Veronica walked in to his office, setting her briefcase and purse down near the doorway.

"Full on," Veronica answered. "I picked up all the old case information I needed in L.A. and I'll spend quite a while sifting through it."

"That's good," Logan said grimly. "I hate that you have to do it, but seeing as you have to I'm glad you're getting into it quickly."

"I'm just hoping that it's some idiot coming after me and we'll be able to catch them quickly," Veronica replied.

"Well, the sheriff's department seems to think it's no idiot," Logan mused. "No fingerprints, nothing at all to give us any idea of who left that hideous thing in Aubrey's locker. I had a meeting today with Adams to discuss tighter security for Neptune High. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I think allowing me to pay to have state of the art CCTV installed is a fair request. He's going to speak to the board, and if they okay it, then I can go ahead and I'll have it done over the weekend. I'll take care of the middle school and elementary school next week if I'm successful with the high school."

"That sounds good. It's the simplest way to take care of the kids without worrying them unnecessarily," Veronica remarked. "I'm going to put my things away and see the kids, then I'll see about dinner."

"Don't worry about dinner, Rosie's taking care of everything tonight," Logan told Veronica.

Veronica smiled tenderly at him, kissed him, then left his office.

She stowed her work things away, locking her gun up for the night, then went to see the children, stopping first in Aubrey's room.

Aubrey was sitting quietly at her desk, headphones in, apparently doing homework.

Veronica found Violet reading silently on her bed, and the boys studiously building Lego. These activities accounted for the odd silence of the house.

After speaking to her mother Violet didn't feel inclined to return to reading, so she left her book on her bed and wandered into Aubrey's room and flopped down on the bed.

"Why didn't you get changed, Aub?" Violet asked, observing that Aubrey was still wearing her cheer practice clothing, with a large sweater thrown over the top.

"They're comfy," Aubrey answered absently.

"Aubrey, please take out your headphones and talk to me," Violet requested.

Aubrey obliged and turned to look at her sister patiently. "What is it, Vi?" she asked.

"I want to know what happened to you at school. I know that the threat or whatever it is has something to do with you. You've been so, so quiet, and Mom and Dad keep looking at you oddly. Are you okay?" Violet asked, her little face lined with unusual worry.

"I'll be fine, Vi," Aubrey said softly, standing and moving to sit on her bed with her sister. "Yeah, the threat was targeted at me, I won't lie to you about that, but it's not really me they want, they want to hurt Mom. I'm not going to tell you exactly what happened, but nothing physically hurt me, and Mom and Dad are doing everything to make sure nothing else happens, and Mom is the best."

"And Dan will look after you," Violet added cheekily, apparently reassured by her older sister's words.

"He seems to be very keen on that, actually," Aubrey remarked dryly. "Maybe he and Daddy can bond over that."

"Dad, bond with your boyfriend? Unlikely," Violet said with a giggle. "I'm glad you're the eldest, that way I can pick up tips from you about how to avoid freaking Dad out when I have a boyfriend."

"Which won't be for a few years, Miss Barely-Twelve-Years-Old," Aubrey teased.

"Yeah, but at least I'll have plenty of time to study you," Violet retorted. "Actually, any plans for this weekend that you need to ask Mom and Dad about so I can watch?"

"Actually, yes, I should check with Mom and Dad about going out with Dan Saturday night. It's just for a party with friends, but with the heightened security they might be wary," Aubrey mused.

"So go ask them now, get it over with, I'll come, for moral support," Violet offered, standing up, taking Aubrey's hand and pulling her off the bed.

The two girls walked quickly down the stairs and found Veronica and Logan sitting on the couch watching the news together.

"Oh good girls, I was about to call you to set the table for dinner," Veronica said.

"Sure Mom, but Aubrey needs to check something with you first," Violet began.

"Oh?" Veronica said, an eyebrow raised. "Will you be speaking for her, or does your sister still have the power of speech."

Logan made a quick analysis of the situation and said, "Speak Aubrey, I'm not going to flip out, whatever it is. Actually, there may be a few exceptions, but you get the idea."

"Well, it's just that Dan and I wanted to go to a party this Saturday, just with some school friends. I know you'd normally be fine with it, but I was just worried because of the whole security issue," Aubrey explained.

"Look, we'd both feel better of course if you stayed home and we could wrap you in cotton wool, and if your boyfriend was say, 100 miles away, but it's not realistic," Logan began. "We want to you keep living like normal, which is why we increased the security we already had. So you can go, provided your mother agrees, and you will of course have to have security with you. They'll be out of the way and following normal procedure as was explained to you yesterday."

Aubrey looked hopefully at Veronica.

"Of course you can go," Veronica allowed.

"Thanks! And Daddy, are you busy on Saturday morning? I thought we might go for breakfast," Aubrey suggested, almost shyly.

"Your shout?" Logan teased. "Of course we can darling. Will you want to sleep in after the game on Friday night?"

"Not really, nine should be enough of a sleep in," Aubrey told him.

So Saturday morning found Logan and Aubrey having breakfast at a beach front café.

"So, you probably guessed I asked you to have breakfast with me because I wanted to talk to you about something," Aubrey said slowly, picking at her omelette.

"Yes, I did," Logan said, grinning. "So why don't you spill."

"Well, it's just, Mom and I had a talk the other week, and I told her how I felt about how you feeling about me dating Dan," Aubrey said in a slightly jumbled way. "She said I should tell you."

"Tell me what?" Logan prompted gently.

"We don't talk anymore Daddy, not really," Aubrey said sadly. "It's like you're scared of something I'll say, that I won't be me anymore. Like you're scared to know me now."

Logan felt his heart ache as his looked at his daughter's face and heard her words. "Well, as your mother would tell me, I've been a real jackass. I'm sorry I've made you feel that way, and it's nothing to do with you, or how much I love you. It's because of me, I've been too stupid and scared to accept the fact that you're getting older. Thank you for telling me how you feel, and I want you to feel free to tell me anything, anything really. Even about Dan."

"Really?" Aubrey asked hopefully.

"Really," Logan said sincerely, and he had meant it.

But when Dan picked Aubrey up that night, and Logan watched his little girl look at him adoringly he knew he would have to work hard, very hard, to be ready to hear whatever Aubrey had to say about her boyfriend. Logan watched how comfortable they already were together and he could just see Aubrey slipping away in front of his eyes. Well, he would have to work hard to make sure that he didn't lose her, and if and when Dan broke her heart, her daddy would be their to pick up the pieces.

"Goodnight, Daddy, Mom," Aubrey said cheerfully, taking Dan's hand on her way out.

Logan followed them to the door and watched them walk down the path.

"Hey, Curtis! Come here a minute," Logan requested, calling to the security guard who would be following Aubrey that night.

"Sir?" Curtis asked.

"Just, just take care of my baby girl tonight," Logan said eventually. "She is your priority, if it comes down to it, you take care of her first, not the boyfriend. In fact, if you're faced with the choice of killing the boyfriend or not killing the boyfriend, kill the boyfriend."

"Yes, sir," Curtis said obligingly, then left to follow Aubrey and Dan to their party.

Aubrey and Dan's evening went off without a hitch, and Aubrey was safely home in bed by her curfew of midnight. Things weren't normal, but at least they were all safe, for the time being.

**AN: Thanks for reading!**

**Up next, we check in with some other characters, other than the Echolls and we see how V is progressing with solving The Keating Case, and the threat on her family.**

**Next chapter will go up after 6 reviews or 6 days :)**


	21. Chapter 19

**AN: Okay, I think I'm a little later with this update than I said I'd be, sorry! It's been really full on for me lately, and I haven't had time to post, let alone write. Fear not, I'm having a few days holiday soon and should get another chapter written! (They're all planned out at least :) ) So thanks for your patience, all your reviews, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 19**

"Caroline, when your father and I told you that you could date we didn't think you'd try dating everyone in the school," Mac said to her eldest daughter.

"Well, luckily, I'm not," Caroline retorted.

"I think you understand the use of hyperbole, Caroline Piper," Mac admonished.

"And I thought you'd understand that I'm not dating everyone in the school, I've actually only dated a couple of guys," Caroline insisted.

"Four, if you count that guy who took you to Homecoming," James supplied, walking through the kitchen. It was Thursday morning and they were getting ready for school.

"Thanks, James," Caroline said witheringly. "But I am being careful, Mom. The reason I've dated more than one guy is because none of them have been worth continuing to date. You and Dad want me to find someone who is good for me, and that's what I'm trying to do."

"Well, how about you start by being friends with them first, instead of going straight to dating," Mac suggested gently. "You can go now, your lecture is over. I love you, have a good day."

Caroline smiled in relief, kissed her mother's cheek and headed out of the kitchen.

"I wondered how long it would be until they talked to you about your active 'social life'," James taunted Caroline.

"And you were so helpful Jamie," Caroline said, sticking her tongue out elegantly.

"Have a good day, Care," he said carelessly, walking out to the car where Dick was waiting to take Aurora and him to school.

One street over Lily was dressing her little ones for the day.

"Please hold still, Maegan," Lily said desperately, trying to get the little girl to stop squirming while she dressed her.

"What we doin' today, Mommy?" Dylan asked, walking into the room.

"We're going to go and see Granddad," Lily answered. "He's back from his trip and I think he'd like to see you."

"I can show him how much I've grown!" Dylan crowed. "And all the words I can spell."

"That sounds very good," Lily agreed. "Then this afternoon I thought we might bake Grandpa Mars and Grandma Alicia some cupcakes."

"Why?" Dylan asked.

"To thank them for minding Meggie on Tuesdays," Lily replied.

"We makin' somethin' for Uncle Logan too?" Dylan asked, his bright mind concluding that everyone who minded Maegan should get food.

"Not today, but it's a nice idea," Lily agreed. "Come on, Maegan's dressed. We're ready to go."

Lily packed her little ones into the car, and as she looked at their dear little faces her heart constricted as she imagined what it would feel like if someone was threatening to kill them. She had no idea how Veronica and Logan were coping, and she sent up a silent prayer asking for their troubles to be over soon.

Lily climbed into the driver's seat and she and the children headed straight to the Kane Mansion where they spent an enjoyable morning with Jake Kane, who had softened considerably with age. His smiles were more frequent and his demands and expectation were not as severe.

That afternoon Wallace was surprised to his son arrive in his office.

"Hey Dad," Justin began. "I hope it's okay that I dropped by without calling first."

"It's fine. Is everything alright?" Wallace asked, concerned by the uncharacteristic appearance of his son. It wasn't that they weren't close, they were, it was just abnormal for Justin to 'drop by' at all.

"Yeah, it's fine. I just felt like saying hello," Justin said lamely.

"Well, pull up a chair and we'll find a snack to eat," Wallace instructed. "Did you drive here? Where your brother and sisters?"

"They caught the bus home, Mom's there," Justin answered.

Wallace tossed Justin a bag of chips and said, "Don't tell your mom, but I have a stash of junk food in the office."

Justin grinned conspiratorially and started munching on his chips.

"Dad, you went to school with Aunt Veronica, right?" Justin said slowly.

"Yeah, just for junior and senior year, when we moved to Neptune," Wallace answered.

"You guys were best friends that whole time, right?" Justin prodded.

"Well yeah, I mean, we had our fights, but she was always my friend," Wallace replied, mystified. "Did you and Aubrey have a fight?"

"No, no," Justin said quickly. "Aunt Veronica dated a number of guys while you were her best friend, didn't she?"

"Sure, a few, I guess," Wallace agreed, still unsure of where his son was taking the conversation.

"Where you ever…jealous?" Justin asked eventually.

"What?" Wallace asked, his jaw a little slack.

"I mean, did you ever like Aunt Veronica, _like_ like I mean," Justin managed to choke out.

"Me? Have a crush on V?" Wallace queried, shocked at the notion. "I never even thought of her that way, you know. At first she was just the girl who cut me down from the flagpole, then she was my friend, then I realised that Veronica Mars was something of a legend. I guess she was always sort of off limits in my mind, she was like this human action figure, and my best friend, there was no attraction, even if a lot of other guys liked to chase her."

"Okay Dad, got it. It wasn't like that for you two," Justin said quickly.

"Why all the questions?" Wallace asked, and as he did it all clicked. Years of helping Veronica on cases had left their mark. "Oh no, no, no, no, you do not want to have a crush on Aubrey Echolls. I mean, she's wonderful of course, but she's Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls' daughter. That means she'll bring you nothing but trouble. Veronica was like a magnet for trouble and Logan, you do not want to see him when he's mad, which he will inevitably be if you date his daughter."

"No to mention she's taken," Justin said glumly. "I get it Dad, it's a bad situation to be in, that's why I wanted to ask you if you'd ever had a thing for Aunt Veronica, and if you did, how you got rid of it."

"Well, you know I didn't, but I can tell you that you just can't get rid of a crush, especially on someone like Aubrey," Wallace replied. "Your mother probably wouldn't exactly approve of the method I'm about to suggest, but she's not here, and she's not a guy. Sometimes it's just easier to try and like someone else. Find a pretty, nice girl, someone genuine, someone you could like if you weren't into Aubrey, then focus your attention on them, and you might end up liking them instead. It's not foolproof, but a distraction is better than pining. It's bad enough that girls pine, us guys can't do it."

"You think I should try to date someone else?" Justin repeated. "Well, it's not like there are a lack of girls to date. Aubrey and Caroline are always trying to set me up with someone."

Wallace winced, it had to be tough having the girl you liked obliviously trying to set you up with other people.

"Aubrey has no idea, does she?" Wallace asked gently.

"Not a clue, I might as well be her brother," Justin replied flatly. "I have to watch her go through this crap, and have Dan be the one comforting her, while I just have to be friendly and supportive."

"I know you might want more, but I'm sure she appreciates you being a supportive friend, she needs her friends at a time like this. And it might hurt now, her not knowing how you feel, but will probably be better in the long run, it removes an awkward factor, the whole 'our friendship is strained now' phase," Wallace pointed out. "Son, I'm glad you came to talk to me about it. I'm always here for you, whether it's for girl advice or basketball advice, or even surfing, but you'd be better off asking Uncle Logan first about surfing."

"Thanks Dad, and thanks for the chips," Justin said, managing a grin. "And I know you wouldn't, but I just wanted to make sure that you won't talk to Aunt Veronica about this. It would be weird."

"For both of us," Wallace said fervently. "See you at home."

So Justin headed home, trying valiantly not to think about Aubrey, but in trying not to think about her he just ended up thinking about her anyway. Conundrum.

Meanwhile Aubrey was at home, preparing to go for a walk on the beach.

"Curtis, can't you just let me go by myself? It's been more than a week since anything happened," Aubrey pleaded to the security man.

"I can't Miss Echolls, it's against procedure, and your father would kill me," Curtis replied firmly.

Aubrey sighed heavily then said, "But I'm meeting my boyfriend, so I won't be alone."

"I know, especially because three's a crowd," Curtis supplied, smiling to himself over his joke.

Aubrey sighed again, though this time it sounded more like a screech and her eyes filled with tears. Curtis realised that she was serious, and seriously beginning to crack under the strain of her situation.

"Okay, Miss Echolls, I'll make you a deal. I'm still coming, but I won't be as close as normal. I'll give you some space, but you have to have a panic button with you," Curtis negotiated.

"Thank you," Aubrey said quietly. "I'm planning to go in ten minutes, you'll be ready?"

"Of course," Curtis said automatically.

Aubrey left him and headed upstairs to collect her cell phone and a light jacket.

She flopped onto her bed and dialled Caroline's number.

"Aub, what's up?" Caroline said breezily when she answered.

"I'm going to go crazy, I'm never going to get a proper moment alone with Dan, ever again," Aubrey whined, launching straight into her misery. "I get that I'm in danger, but I've only been dating Dan for just over a month, and it's all new and exciting and what if he gets tired of all danger with no physical action?"

"He won't, he's totally into you, you two are so cute I'm practically crying with jealous most days," Caroline replied, soothing Aubrey. "And if it's alone time you want, how about school? You're not shadowed every minute there. Cut class, find a broom closet or something."

"I'm pretty sure they only make out in broom closets in _Harry Potter_," Aubrey said with a grin. "And what about all that new security Dad had installed? What if I'm seen sneaking off?"

"That will only happen if something happens and they need to look through the security footage. I actually read the letter the school sent home telling us about the new security, of course Mom and Dad already new, but anyway, the note said that the school staff weren't in control of the CCTV, the security company was in charge of monitoring it, and viewing it if necessary," Caroline explained importantly.

Aubrey laughed and said, "Thanks, Care. I guess sneaking off to a broom closet might be okay then. Anyway, I'm going to meet Dan on the beach now. Remember to do your math homework as well as your flirting."

"I promise," Caroline said, rolling her eyes good naturedly. "Have fun!"

As Aubrey headed out to meet Dan Veronica was sitting in her office, looking through files as she talked to her father on the phone.

"No Dad, it's fine really. Well, you know what I mean. It's not fine, but I don't want you involving yourself in the case, it would just make me more worried," Veronica told Keith.

"But we're talking about my grandchildren, and I can't just do nothing, Veronica," Keith protested.

"You don't have to do nothing, Dad. I just don't want you helping me with the case, it could put you in danger, I have no idea who I'm dealing with yet, and there's a high chance they're dangerous and it's obvious they hate me," Veronica countered. "I've called in a few favours and I have people helping me, really good people. The best thing you can do if you want to help is to spend time with the kids. You're great with them and they love you."

"You're sure you've got enough people helping you?" Keith asked.

"Yes, I have extra protection on Aubrey and I have someone helping me comb through all my old cases, I'm actually just in the middle of that now," Veronica explained.

"Okay, I'll go then, and let you keep doing it, but I think Alicia and I will come for dinner tonight, how does that sound?" Keith asked.

"That sounds wonderful, Dad," Veronica agreed.

"Okay, we'll see you when you get home then," Keith told her. "I hope you find a lead, and soon."

"Thanks, Dad. Bye, love you," Veronica said.

"I love you too, kiddo," Keith said affectionately.

Veronica hung up the phone and returned to looking closely at the case work in front of her. She'd made two piles, those who were still in gaol, and those who were out. She was focusing on those who were out, though she couldn't entirely discount those who were still in as they might have an accomplice on the outside.

Veronica pulled out her untraceable cell and called the agent who was helping her go through her old cases.

"Agent Owens, have you found anything yet?" Veronica asked crisply.

"I've narrowed the list down quite a lot, Detective Echolls. I've checked up on all of those suspects who are on parole, and 85% of them have had no chance to be down here and place that note and doll in your daughter's locker," Owens divulged. "So from here I'm going to try and locate the other 15% of suspects. If I give a list could you please rank them in order of the threat you believe they would pose you. So how dangerous they were when you were on their case, and how much they appeared to hate you when you caught them."

"Of course, thank you," Veronica agreed. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Just be vigilant, keep up your security measures, keep an eye out for suspicious thing, and familiarise yourself with the details of each suspect from the list I'm about to send through to you," Owens replied.

"Of course. I'll have it ranked by the end of tonight and send it to you," Veronica promised. "I'll be in touch."

The call ended and Veronica waited anxiously for the list to come through.

It arrived forty-five seconds later and Veronica opened the file to find a list of 6 names.

Miller, Barry

Saunders, Stuart

Mueller, Klaus

Gibson, Craig

De La Hoya, Sophia

Thompson, Richard

Veronica sighed with relief, and with fatigue. She was glad the list was only small, it meant that they were hopefully closer to pinning down who was threatening her family. She didn't look forward to having to refamiliarise herself with the old cases though.

Still, found the six relevant files, sifted through them, quickly ranked the names and sent the list back to Agent Owens.

None of the names seemed to jump out at her, and she had this niggling feeling like she was missing something.

Knowing that there was nothing else she could do for the day, Veronica packed her things up and headed out to her car to go home.

As she settled into her car her phone rang.

"Hello, Veronica Echolls speaking," she said quickly.

"Mrs Echolls, this is Max Rogers, the head of American Shield Private Security," Max said. "It's procedure that I call you if there is an incident. I'm informed by my security guards as soon as they can after it happens, then it's my responsibility to get in touch with you or Mr Echolls, if neither of you is there."

"Yes, I understand all that, get to the point," Veronica said brusquely.

"Well, while your daughter was out there was another attack on her," Max disclosed. "She's safely back at your house now and the sheriff from your department is on his way there too."

"Is Aubrey alright?" Veronica asked anxiously, doubting a second attack would leave her daughter unscathed.

"Yes, the guard on her detail got her back safely and the rest of the men on your security detail are at your house, making sure the property it secure," Max answered.

"Okay, I'm heading there right now. Thank you for you call," Veronica said, and hung up immediately, not waiting for a response.

Veronica drove home at a great speed, heart racing, wondering how there could have been another threat on Aubrey, and so soon.

Veronica paused her car at the gate at the front of their property, entered the code, and waited impatiently for it to open.

When it did she stepped on the accelerator and raced through the gates.

She pulled her car to an abrupt stop, got out, and raced up the steps and to the front door.

She tried to open it, but found it locked.

She got out her key and quickly inserted it, turned it, and stepped inside.

She could hear talking from the living room and rushed in there.

"Where's Aubrey?" she asked wildly.

"Upstairs," Logan said wearily.

"We finished hearing her statement and thought it best she went to lie down," Sheriff Webster supplied.

"Dan and Violet are looking after her," Logan added.

"What happened this time?" Veronica demanded, sitting down next to Logan.

Logan looked from the sheriff to the security guards, trying to determine who should tell Veronica.

"Aubrey was out walking on the beach with her boyfriend," the sheriff began, deciding to take control. "Curtis, who I understand is her particular bodyguard, was following at a safe distance. Things had been going fine, and Aubrey and her boyfriend were sitting on the sand when something was thrown towards them and landed right next to Aubrey. She and her boyfriend realised it was a bomb, and it hadn't detonated, and they both got up and ran in the direction of Curtis."

"Oh my God," Veronica said shakily. "What was the damage?"

"Nothing, upon inspection it was discovered that the bomb was a fake. One of the security guards on your detail, Patrick, is apparently an expert in explosives and was the one called in to examine the bomb when it appeared it wasn't going to explode," the sheriff explained. "They opened the bomb, which was hollow, expect for a note inside. It read, 'You won't know where and you won't know when.'"

"Oh dear God," Veronica said tiredly. "Wait, Logan, where are the boys?"

"They're in the TV room with your dad and Alicia, they're okay," Logan said comfortingly.

"Okay. Sheriff, Curtis, is there anything else you need to go through with me before I make some calls?" Veronica asked, anxious to call the FBI agent, who was on Aubrey, to see if they'd noticed anything.

"Just a few things," the sheriff replied. "As you would probably be aware, there is no footage available to us of the area surrounding the attack. The attacker appears to be very skilled, they know where they can target your daughter without being caught on camera, and they seem to know where she's going to be. The note, and the fake bomb, have been put into our care and will be added to what we have on your case. We can only recommend that you keep up the high security measures you have in place, and possibly even extend them further."

"Mr Rogers will be here shortly to discuss options with you, Mr Echolls," Curtis added.

"Thank you all," Veronica said. "Logan will see you out when you're ready, Sheriff. I have some calls to make."

Veronica went and locked herself in Logan's study and called Agent Fitzwalter, the agent who was in charge of following Aubrey.

"I've been expecting your call," Fitzwalter said.

"I'm sure," Veronica said seriously. "What can you tell me?"

When Veronica got off the phone her heart was heavy. She had no idea how someone would be able to be attacking her family so stealthily. They had so many security measures in place and all they had to show for it was part of a number plate from a photo Agent Fitzwalter had taken at the scene.

Fitzwalter had been watching Aubrey from a distance, and when he realised that something had happened he quickly photographed a car fleeing the scene, which he believed to have the attacker in it. Fitzwalter was sending the photos straight to the L.A. headquarters for them to try and get a match on the partial shot of the plates.

Veronica leaned back in Logan's office chair and closed her eyes. The only plus side to having more things happen was that they would hopefully have more leads, and soon. All she had to do was finalise The Keating Case, find the bastard who was after her family, and things would be back to normal.

Veronica stared at the white wall of the office and said, "For the first time ever, I think, I wish Dick was here. I could really use a drink, and a drinking buddy."

**AN: The next chapter will be up as soon as I get it written! And PLEASE review :)**


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